Let us start by agreeing that while gastric surgery on NHS is possible, and in quite a wide variety, it comes with serious conditions and a long test period before one can even get close to choosing their type of operation. If they qualify. Too many people, sadly, do not.
Some practices will also have to refer the patient to a medical weight loss service (Tier 3) before referral to Tier 4 Bariatric Surgery Service can be accepted.
Weight Loss Without Surgery
There is a variety of options on the market, such as liposuction, cool sculpting, Zerona Z6, and other methods that work through the skin on the fat cells, it is important to know that these methods are meant to help rid the patient of stubborn pockets of fat cells here and there on the body, they are not meant for any general weight loss.
The same goes for weight loss pills or any diet currently trending. Some of these methods – especially healthy diets overseen by professional dietitians – definitely help, and are even necessary before bariatric surgery can be considered, but if they had fully worked, there would not be a years-long line of desperate people aiming for weight loss surgery on NHS or scraping to travel abroad, would there?
Which Weight Loss Surgery is Best for me?
If the patient has been listed for gastric surgery on NHS, then at the end of the second assessment, once the medical team has agreed upon their readiness, it is time to decide which operation to have.
There will of course be suggestions from the surgeon, but it is also helpful to have done the homework before. Having learned, what’s a You’ll want to become familiar with gastric sleeve, what’s a gastric bypass, and duodenal switch surgery or gastric band, which are also as these are the most common types of weight loss surgeries performed on NHS.
With good basic knowledge under one’s belt, it is much more fruitful to listen to the surgeon getting into fine details of the types of gastric bypass, etc. The final word will always belong to the patient.
Weight Loss Surgery on NHS
Provided that the person has BMI 40 and over or BMI 35 and any obesity-related serious health conditions, they have tried and failed other means, are fit enough for anesthetic and surgery, and agree to long-term follow-up after surgery, these are the most frequent choices NHS offers:
Gastric sleeve,
gastric bypass,
gastric band, with bypass being the most popular.
The less common bariatric surgeries on NHS are single loop gastric bypass, gastric balloon and in rare cases, bilo-pancreatic diversion (similar to gastric bypass except for a much larger section of the small intestine is bypassed which comes with increased risk of complications) – the latter is used only when rapid weight loss is required to prevent a serious health condition getting worse)
In summary, when considering gastric surgery on NHS, it is wise to start talking with the GP and also bear in mind that guidelines and conditions may somewhat vary across the UK.
