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Susan

Susan – Gastric Banding Surgery Success

Susan Schifferle, 47


Before	After

Like many women, Susan Schifferle’s weight ballooned after her first baby.

“I was trapped in a vicious cycle where nothing seemed to work. I lost all motivation to eat well and exercise,” says the 47-year-old obstetric nurse.

“I’d lose 20 kilos on a weight loss program. But after stopping, I’d pile another 20 kilos back on.”

As Susan’s health and wellbeing continued its downward spiral, she sought help from her local doctor who referred her to Melbourne’s laparoscopic gastric banding experts, LapSurgery^© Australia.

“When I first visited the centre I weighed 141 kilos and felt absolutely disgusting,” she says.

“Now I’ve dropped 10 dress sizes and a whopping 54 kilos in two and a half years. That’s my neighbour’s full body weight!

“My whole attitude to life and food has totally changed. I’m so much more motivated and energetic now,” she says.

“I now know what I can and can’t eat and my food portions are much smaller. The gastric band has taken away my hunger and craving for food.”

Susan said the support from LapSurgery^© Australia, both pre-op and post-op, has been exceptional and she continues to be monitored every six months.

Since undergoing the gastric banding procedure she has lost an average of half a kilo per week.

“I don’t have saggy skin because I’ve lost weight consistently. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done,” she says.

Susan says that now her seven-year-old son can wrap his arms around her. “And I’ll be around to see him graduate,” she says.

“Even my husband, a man of few words, drops little compliments like: ‘I didn’t see you standing there side on.”

Susan says she has finally got her life back and she feels so much healthier.

“I now have lower blood pressure and cholesterol,” she says.

“I’ve changed the way I dress and everyone says I look 10 years younger.”

What is obesity?
In 2002 around three million Australians suffered from obesity¹, which is considered more damaging to the health than smoking or alcohol abuse². Obesity is associated with serious health problems including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and some cancers³.

How can gastric banding help?
Clinical studies show that if, like Susan, you are severely overweight and have failed to achieve results with diet and exercise plus medication, then a surgical solution can be an option to curbing obesity^4,5.
Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding surgery is the most common of the weight loss surgical procedures performed in Australia^5,6 and has been clinically proven to be significantly better than non-surgical treatments⁷.

What does the procedure involve?
An adjustable silicone band is wrapped around the upper stomach via key hole surgery to induce weight loss, by forming a small pouch which restricts the amount of food that can be consumed⁸. An adjustment port, connected to the band by tubing, is placed in the abdominal wall, allowing a saline solution to be added or removed to alter the size of the band to increase or suppress the appetite⁸. The adjustments are usually performed in the specialist’s consulting rooms.

Unlike other, more invasive forms of gastric weight loss surgery, gastric banding surgery does not involve cutting, stapling or any potentially permanent alteration to the stomach or intestines⁸. It’s also reversible and can be customised to suit each individual person. The key hole surgery offers a quick recovery, with most patients staying in hospital for only one to two days and returning to work within two weeks.

What are the results?
People like Susan can expect to lose an average of about 50 per cent of their excess body weight⁵. Major weight loss among the severely obese can lead to partial or complete control of diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure^4,5.

However experts are quick to warn that gastric banding is not a “quick fix” solution to weight loss. It’s not designed to make you rakishly thin, but rather, to bring you back into a healthy weight range when combined with diet and exercise. It’s a slow process that takes each patient between 18 to 24 months to achieve their target weight loss and it requires medical support, supervision and follow-up for life.⁵

Who is a potential candidate for gastric banding surgery?
If you’re severely overweight and suffering from problems with your obesity, have been overweight and tried vigorously to lose weight by other means, and are able to fulfil your part of the medical partnership in achieving a good result with the band, then you may be a suitable candidate for surgery⁸.

Download the full Body&Soul article - 6/2008

References:

Australian Government, Department of Health and Ageing. About overweight and obesity. 2002. www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-strateg-hlthwt-obesity.htm.
Sturm, R. The Effects of Obesity, Smoking and Problem Drinking on Medical Problems and Costs, Health Affairs. 2002; 21(2): 245-253. www.rand.org/health.
Australia's Health 2008. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Dixon, JB et al. Adjustable Gastric Banding and Conventional Therapy for Type 2 Diabetes. JAMA 2008; 299: 316-23.
O’Brien PE, Brown WA, Dixon JB. Obesity, weight loss and bariatric surgery. Med J Aust 2005. 183 (6): 310-314.
Medicare Australia – Statistics. Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Item 30511. Statistics Report. June 2006 – June 2007.
O’Brien, PE et al. Ann Intern Med 2006; 144 (9): 625-33.
LAP-BAND^® system. DFU.

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