Bariatric surgery in Taiwan
Bariatric surgery in Taiwan section, includes general infrmation about Bariatric surgery Procedure, Bariatric surgery Taiwan Local News, Bariatric surgery Taiwan Surgeon Locator and other Bariatric surgery related material.
Bariatric surgery Procedure
Bariatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the causes, prevention, and treatment of obesity.
The term “bariatrics” refers to "weight medicine". Bariatrics generally deals with pharmacotherapy of obesity and with obesity surgery.
Overweight and obesity are strongly related to medical problems in today’s world. There are many health effects of obesity, such as heart disease, diabetes, many types of cancer, asthma, obstructive sleep apnea, chronic musculoskeletal problems, and others.
In addition to medical concerns regarding obesity, appearance (look) has a major relevance to weight and obesity.
Although diet, exercise, behavior therapy and anti-obesity drugs are first-line treatment, medical therapy for severe obesity has limited short-term success and almost nonexistent long-term success. Therefore, obesity surgery (or bariatric surgery) has been a popular treatment in the war against obesity. Weight loss surgery generally results in greater weight loss than conventional treatment, and leads to improvements in quality of life and obesity related diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.
Before someone can become a candidate for bariatric surgery, certain criteria must be met. The basic criteria are:
[1] An understanding of the operation and the lifestyle changes the patient will need to make;
[2] A body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more, which is about 45 kg (100 pounds) overweight for men and 35 kg (80 pounds) for women; or
[3] A BMI between 35 and 39.9 and a serious obesity-related health problem such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or severe sleep apnea (when breathing stops for short periods during sleep).
Risks involved
Past studies found that 10 to 20 percent of bariatric surgery patients had complications while they were in the hospital. In 2006, federal researchers found that 39.6 percent of patients had complications within 180 days of surgery. The most common complications are:
[1] A composite of gastrointestinal symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea, dysphagia, and reflux (20%)
[2] Anastomotic leaking (at the surgical connections between the stomach and the intestine) (12%);
[3] Abdominal hernia (7%)
[4] Infections (6%).
About 7% of patients were re-admitted to the hospital within 6 months to treat complications specific to the bariatric procedure.
The in-hospital death rate in adults undergoing obesity surgery in 2003 was 0.2%.
Laparoscopic surgery has become an important addition to this field of surgery, and demand soars, amidst scientific and ethical questions.
Surgical procedures in bariatrics
There are a number of surgical options available to treat obesity, each with their advantages and pitfalls. In general, weight reduction can be accomplished, but one must consider operative risk (including mortality) and side effects. Usually, these procedures can be carried out safely.
The surgical procedures can be grouped in three main categories:
[1] Predominantly malabsorptive procedures: although also reducing stomach size, these operations are based mainly on diversion and bypass.
[2] Predominantly restrictive procedures: a surgery that primarily reduces stomach size: Vertical Banded Gastroplasty (Mason procedure, stomach stapling); Adjustable gastric band (or "Lap Band"); Sleeve gastrectomy.
[3] Mixed procedures: applying both techniques simultaneously: gastric bypass surgery, like Roux-en-Y gastric bypass; Sleeve gastrectomy with Duodenal Switch Implantable Gastric Stimulation.
Biliopancreatic diversion
A complex operation, also known as biliopancreatic diversion (BPD), or Scopinaro procedure.
This surgery is rare now because of problems with malnourishment. It has been replaced with the Duodenal Switch, also known as the BPD/DS. Part of the stomach is re-sected, creating a smaller stomach (however after a few months the patient can eat a completely free diet as there is no restrictive component). The distal part of the small intestine is then connected to the pouch, bypassing the duodenum and jejunum. This results in around 2% of patients severe malabsorption and nutritional deficiency that requires restoration on the normal absorption.
The malabsorptive element of BPD is so potent that those who undergo the procedure must take vitamin and mineral supplements above and beyond that of the normal population. Those that do not run the risk of deficiency diseases such as anemia and osteoporosis.
Because gallstones are a common complication of rapid weight loss following any type of weight loss surgery, some surgeons may remove the gall bladder as a preventative measure during BPD. Others prefer to prescribe medication to reduce the risk of post-operative gallstones.
Far fewer surgeons perform BPD compared to other weight loss surgeries, in part because of the need for long-term nutritional follow-up and monitoring of BPD patients.
Vertical Banded Gastroplasty
a part of the stomach is permanently stapled to create a smaller pre-stomach pouch, which serves as the new stomach.
The same effect can be created using a silicone band, which can be adjusted by addition or removal of saline through a port placed just under the skin. This operation can be performed laparoscopically, and is commonly referred to as a "lap band."
Adjustable Gastric Banding
The first lower pressure, wider, one-piece adjustable gastric band called the MIDband® was introduced in 2000. Unlike many of the early bands this was designed specifically for laparoscopic insertion.
Other Bariatric surgery Procedures:
All Body Procedures Procedures
Bariatric surgery Taiwan (current)
Taiwan Buttock Augmentation
Taiwan Calf Augmentation
Taiwan Liposuction
Taiwan Body Contouring
More Taiwan info...
Taiwan By plane There are international flights into Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (formerly called Chiang Kai-Shek (CKS) International Airport) in Taoyuan, and to a lesser extent, to the Kaohsiung International Airport. Taichung and Hualien airports also serve small numbers of international passengers. The Songshan domestic airport is located in Taipei.
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (formerly Chiang-Kai Shek Airport) [3] (TPE) is Taiwan's main international airport. Located 40km to the southwest of Taipei, it has good connections to many major cities except those in mainland China. The airport has direct buses to Taipei, Taichung and other nearby cities. Alternatively, the U-Bus company operates shuttles to HSR Taoyuan (Jhongli) station for high-speed train connections, and to Jhongli Transit Station, for mainline TRA train and southbound bus connections to Tainan, Hsinchu etc.
Taiwan Major airlines The main Taiwanese carriers are China Airlines [7] and EVA Air [8]. China Airlines has a dreadful safety record (12 major crashes in 30 years), and quite a few people opt to avoid it if possible. Cathay Pacific schedules many flights to Hong Kong as Taiwanese flights have to go to China via a third destination.
Cathay Pacific - 2715 2333
China Airlines - 2715 1212
Eva Airways - 2501 1999
KLM Asia - 2711 4055
Northwest - 2772 2188
Singapore Airlines - 2551 6655
Thai Airways - 2509 6800
United Airlines For up-to-date information on cheap flights, check the advertisement pages of one of the three local daily English newspapers (see media below)
Plastic Surgery News...
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- NHS Connecting for Health (NHS CFH) has announced that it will be introducing the Essential IT Skills (EITS) Programme on 3 March 2008, to replace its European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) Service which is due to close on 21 March 2008. The replacement of the ECDL Service comes after consultation with stakeholders around the current training needs of NHS staff. Under the EITS programme, NHS staff will have the opportunity to train for two qualifications nationally accredited by the British Computer Society (BCS):
• NHS ELITE (eLearning IT Essentials): trains staff on basic keyboard and mouse skills as well as file management, web and email skills.
• NHS Health (eLearning for Health Information Systems): gives staff the training they need to ensure that they comply with information governance, data protection and patient confidentiality requirements.
It is hoped that the programme will help users feel more confident when using National Programme for IT (NPfIT) applications in their daily working lives.