For people with severe weight problems or those who are morbidly obese and weigh at least 35-40 kg more than the normal requirement, gastroplasty or stapling operation provides a permanent solution, claims Dr Shrihari Dhorepatil, gastro-intestinal, laparoscopic and obesity surgeon at the Jehangir Hospital and Medical Centre. Dr Dhorepatil has successfully operated on eight patients.

To create awareness about the surgical option for people with severe weight problems, the centre, in association with the Obesity Surgery Clinic, will conduct an obesity surgery workshop and symposium on September 28 at Holiday Inn. The surgical demonstration will be held at Jehangir Hospital and will have obesity surgeons Dr Andrew Jamiesson from Melbourne, Australia and Dr Harold Engler from Augusta, USA, providing an overview of the surgical treatment of morbid obesity.

The actual surgery, which costs Rs 50,000-60,000, involves forming a small pouch in the upper part of the stomach that effectively becomes a new baby stomach. The staples join the walls of the stomach together to form this pouch but leaves a narrow opening called the stoma between the pouch and rest of the stomach.

Three strong stitches are put around the stoma to ensure that it stays 12mm wide and doesn't stretch. The food still goes down the normal way and is digested in the bowel normally. The big difference is that the pouch allows a small amount to be fitted in at one time and hunger would subside until the pouch eventually emptied into the duodenum, explains Dr Dhorepatil.

Due to this procedure, one felt full after eating a small amount of solid food and the intake of food could be kept to two or three tiny meals a day with no desire to eat between meals. After the operation, the patient is able to eat three very small meals daily. The weight loss continues for about a year and on an average patients loose about three quarters of their extra weight, but the final weight depends on how careful people are with eating, Dr Dhorepatil says.