At Auckland Weight Loss Surgery we specialise in the surgical management of obesity. We offer laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and laparoscopic gastric bypass, but also manage patients that have had adjustable gastric bands, or need revision of previous bariatric surgery.
Mr Grant Beban, Mr Richard Babor, Mr Nick Evennett and Ms Angela Bayly are Upper Gastointestinal Surgeons specifically trained in weight loss surgery. They work together, and as part of a multidisciplinary team to optimise patient care.
Included in the team are:
- Craig Birch, Ivan Bergman and Tim Hall - Anaesthetists
- Katie Lambert, Olivia Edwards, Danika Pillay and Caryne McKeand - Bariatric Dietitians
- Cindy Sharon and Mel Stephenson - Health Psychologists
- Yvonne Morgan - Bariatric Nurse Practitioner
Mr Beban and Mr Babor both also consult at MacMurray Gastroenterology in Remuera and all 4 surgeons operate in public hospitals also.
Weight Loss (Bariatric) Surgery
Weight loss or bariatric surgery is a term that covers all the different surgical procedures used to help extremely overweight or morbidly obese patients lose weight.
Morbidly obese patients are usually identified by their Body Mass Index (BMI) measurement, although other factors may also be taken into account. Morbid obesity is associated with an increased risk of developing illnesses such as: heart attack, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, sleep disorders and joint pain. Bariatric surgery can cure or greatly improve these illnesses as well as give the patient an improved quality of life.
Weight loss surgery refers to a number of different procedures that can be performed to treat obesity. Procedures fall into three main types:
- Sleeve gastrectomy. This surgery removes the outer three-quarters of your stomach so it’s much smaller than it was before. The rest of the stomach is shaped into a long gastric tube or ‘sleeve’. This means you cannot eat as much as you could before surgery and you'll feel full sooner.
- Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. A gastric bypass is where a small pouch is made at the top of your stomach. The pouch is then connected to your small intestine, missing out (bypassing) the rest of the stomach. This means it takes less food to make you feel full and you'll absorb fewer calories from the food you eat.
- One anastomosis gastric bypass. This is similar to the Roux-en-Y bypass but requires only 1 not 2 joins of the bowel. This means you eat less and absorb fewer calories.
