Along with the bariatric specialist, the support staff also plays an important role in successful outcomes of a weight loss surgery. Let’s meet the team members here and understand the role each one plays.
Whatever reason one might choose for bariatric surgery, it’s important to choose a hospital or an obesity management facility with properly qualified staff, adequate equipment and extensive experience in performing these procedures. When performed under an experienced specialist, bariatric surgery is safe and comes with no more risk than any other surgery. The surgery procedure needs to be followed by lifetime commitment to dietary and lifestyle changes with ongoing guidance of the support staff. Post-surgery, patients will need ongoing support as they get accustomed to the new body and life. Apart from a bariatric specialist, the core interdisciplinary team consists of the following specialists experienced in obesity management and bariatric surgery: nutritionist, physician, psychiatrist or psychologist, nurse and a social worker.This multidisciplinary team has an increasingly active role to play in the post-surgery phase.
The Team
Nutritionist:
An experienced dietician performs regular dietary assessments and structures a
personalized diet schedule. Beside that a dietician educates the patients about
the essential dietary changes consistent with surgery. Such structured re-learning
of foods to eat, foods to avoid and appropriate ways of eating after bariatric
surgery can help in achieving and maintaining significant weight reduction
while you adjust to the new demands of your body. Shefali Dharia, a registered dietician,
currently works at Centre for Metabolic Surgery in Mumbai. Her work experience
in the US and professional approach makes her an integral part of the team.
Psychologist:
As the patients deal with the rapid and some unexpected changes in bodily form
post-surgery, a psychologist helps the patients to use their strengths and
tackle weaknesses, if any. Post-surgical challenges can include
body image concerns; relationship changes; changes in mood, stress etc. Reactions
from the society can be varied, positive and negative and navigating the social
landscape post-surgery can be challenging. For example, increased social
attention after weight loss can be anxiety-provoking. A psychologist helps
the patient to navigate the social landscape as the patient embraces a revised
lifestyle. That’s what Shireen Hamrapurkar at Centre for Metabolic Surgery
does. A motivated and an enthusiastic team member, Shireen is a Bariatric
surgery Counsellor in the CMS programme. Having gone through the weight loss journey
herself, she understands the many emotions a bariatric patient goes through.
Physician:
An experienced physician integrated in a bariatric program can
understand & monitor patient’s associated disease progression and biochemical
parameters. Most patients experience remission or improvement in multiple
diseases necessitating reduction or discontinuation of prescription drugs. Dr
Madhu Goel, working in the field of obesity helps smoothen post op recovery to
patients at CMS.
Each
patient story is unique and depending on each one’s individual need additional
experts may be a part of the above mentioned core team, such as a plastic
surgeon. Over and above an expert bariatric specialist, it is important to
choose a surgery center that can provide you with the services of all the
experts post-surgery.
