If you’ve visited the weight loss surgery section of our website or followed us on social media, you have probably encountered the promotion of our Bariatric Surgery Information Webinar. If you or a loved one are living with obesity and considering bariatric surgery as an option to help lose weight, this informative webinar is a great place to start.
The live webinar is split into two main sections; the first is a short presentation (around 30 minutes) given by one of our bariatric surgeons, who will then answer any of your questions during the second part of the webinar (usually another 15 minutes depending on the number of audience questions).
Here’s a quick insight into what you can expect to learn during our free Bariatric Surgery Information Webinar.
Our Team
We start with a quick overview of our medical team, as we believe the best outcomes from bariatric surgery come from a team approach. Our team facilitates treatment and surgery from different locations in New South Wales, as well as offering different appointment types (for example telemedicine).
Why do people develop severe weight problems?
Understanding why people develop severe weight problems in the first place. Obesity is not a choice, nobody wants to be overweight and deal daily with the stigma that can surround it. Being overweight can drastically impact your day to day activities, health and self-image. We explore the reasons behind this (genetics vs the environment), to provide the foundation for why bariatric surgery is a long-term treatment for people who have long-term weight issues that can only be resolved with change.
How does weight loss surgery work?
Next, we explain how bariatric surgery works. Weight loss surgery can’t change your genes, but it can help you to change your appetite and eating habits. Over time all procedures become less powerful, which is why it is important that we work with our patients to learn new skills, centred around portion size, reducing meal frequency and reducing calorie density.
How do we choose the right operation for you?
During this part of the presentation, we will explain how deciding the right treatment for obesity, whether that be diet, medication or surgery, mostly depends on your own individual circumstances. We evaluate the risk vs benefit profile of the different options and your own personal health profile (health conditions, stage in life, your health goals). Including an overview of expected weight loss from different treatment options, and their long term success.
Purpose & importance of follow up
Typically a bariatric surgery patient will experience rapid weight loss, often half of their overall weight loss in the first 3 – 4 months after surgery. Over the next 12 – 18 months they will lose the remaining weight, but how much depends on the effort of the patient, their age, and what procedure they have had. We expect people having sleeve gastrectomy to lose about 30% of their starting weight, with Bypass patients to lose up to 40% of their starting weight. While it is rare for patients to achieve or maintain a weight below BMI 25 (the so-called “normal weight”), most will be far healthier, be able to carry out activities of daily living and fit into regular clothes. We explain how after a period of 6 – 12 months of ‘easy’ weight maintenance, approximately 18 months – 3 years later the majority of patients will experience some weight gain. Coming back for conversations around weight management is incredibly important to ensure lifelong weight maintenance and commitment to a healthier lifestyle.
Bariatric Surgery Options
The final section of the presentation explains in more detail the different bariatric surgery types; from the most popular sleeve gastrectomy, to the different forms of gastric bypass and the less common gastric band procedure. This helps you to gain a better understanding of each of the procedures, how they work, and potential side effects and risks.
Q&A Section
After absorbing so much information, you’re sure to have some questions by the end of the presentation. Or maybe you already had some questions in mind and have come prepared beforehand. This is your opportunity to ask one of our bariatric surgeons your own specific questions and get answers straight away. Don’t worry you don’t have to speak up in front of everyone attending, you can simply send a message over the Zoom chat function.
We run our Bariatric Surgery Information Webinar sessions once a month, at 7.30pm via Zoom on the first Tuesday of the month. If you think that you would benefit from joining our next webinar, you can click here to register and you will be sent the Zoom invite details as well as a copy of A/Prof Talbot presenting the webinar after you attend.
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