weight loss information
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Best Patients/Candidates for Bariatric Operations to Reduce Morbid Clinical ObesityWeight Loss Surgery - Benefits and RisksWeight Loss Surgery - Potential Candidates
Weight Loss Surgery - Evaluation of Potential CandidatesPatients seeking weight loss surgical therapy for the first time should be evaluated by a knowledgeable physician and provided with sufficient information on which to make a reasonable choice for therapy. In spite of the failure of medical therapy by drugs, diet, behaviour modification and exercise to achieve documented long term weight loss in the morbidly obese, it is accepted practice to require that the potential candidate for surgical treatment have made good faith attempts to achieve weight loss by dietary means. Although the segment of the morbidly obese population able to lose significant weight by non-surgical means is miniscule, candidates for surgery must be given the opportunity to try, a proposition which justifies insistence on at least one attempt at dietary weight loss prior to acceptance into a bariatric surgery program. Decisions on what therapy to recommend to patients with clinically severe obesity should depend on their wishes for outcomes, on the need for therapy, and on the physicians explanation of options for therapy and the current information on probable safety, efficacy, advantages and risks. The need for close nutritional monitoring during rapid weight loss and the need for lifelong medical surveillance after surgical therapy should be made clear to the prospective patient and their relatives. The operation should be carried out by a surgeon substantially experienced with the appropriate procedures and working in a clinical setting with adequate support for all aspects of perioperative assessment and management. These include hospital facilities geared to care for the morbidly obese patient, medical specialty availability, psychological support, dietary and nutritional counseling, and patient support groups. |
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