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More obesity surgery could save lives
The Victorian Government should increase access to taxpayer-funded gastric banding surgery for morbidly obese Victorians to improve their health outcomes and potentially save their lives, AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley said today.
AMA Victoria has put a proposal to the State Government to expand access to weight loss surgery for morbidly obese Victorians who have exhausted other weight loss avenues and can’t afford private surgery.
"We’re not talking about people who can’t shed the few extra kilos they’re carrying," Dr Hemley said. "Morbid obesity means the person is carrying so much extra weight that it’ s likely to significantly shorten their life."
The proposal would trial gastric banding surgery in five public hospitals over a three year period. At a cost of $30 million, the program would provide bariatric surgery to 1,000 morbidly obese Victorians.
"Bariatric surgery is the last resort for people with morbid obesity," said Dr Hemley "This type of surgery is offered to morbidly obese people who have repeatedly failed in their attempts to lose weight and who commit to a strict eating and exercise regime and medical follow-ups.
"Gastric bypass surgery is the only intervention to date that has been shown to be cost-effective for treating severe obesity. The direct and indirect costs of bariatric surgery in Australia are about
$10 000, which is about the same as the average cost of managing a diabetic patient for one year."
Up to 80 per cent of patients with type 2 diabetes who have bariatric surgery are cured of the diabetes.
Dr Hemley said obesity was more prevalent in lower socio-economic groups, but only about 10 per cent of bariatric surgery was carried out in public hospitals. “A significant proportion of the Victorian population who would most benefit from the treatment currently miss out," he said.
AMA Victoria’s bariatric surgery proposal is part of a broader AMA Victoria obesity strategy which recommends improved community infrastructure, traffic light nutritional labels on foods, a ban on junk food in government buildings, and the establishment of comprehensive obesity clinics.
Dr Hemley said the Baillieu Government needed to develop a comprehensive obesity plan. "We need an obesity strategy that focuses on prevention – healthy eating and exercise – but also looks at treatment for morbidly obese Victorians," he said.
Bariatric surgery is only available to morbidly obese patients with a Body Mass Index of 40 or above, or patients with a significant health problems and a BMI above 35. Around 1.7 per cent of Victorians have a BMI greater than 40; 4.1 per cent have a BMI between 35 and 40.
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