A careful look at obesity and diabetes

Combining a qualified multidisciplinary team and cutting-edge treatments with high technology, Moriah Hospital celebrates the good results of an institution that deals with these problems

Still not seen as a disease by many people, obesity is considered a global health problem. According to the National Health Survey, 96 million Brazilians are obese or live overweight. And in the very near future, by 2030, 30% of the world’s population will be obese, according to the World Obesity Foundation. In addition to being a cosmetic problem, obesity can cause serious health problems, such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and even some types of cancer.

It is with a careful and thoughtful look at the issue that Moriah Hospital has created the Obesity and Diabetes Institute, bringing together a qualified multidisciplinary team including digestive surgeons, endocrinologists, radiologists, endoscopists, plastic surgeons, nutritionists, psychologists and psychiatrists focused in bringing health, well-being and quality of life to those suffering from obesity and diabetes. Moriah offers a wide range of treatments, ranging from essential healthcare, not only for the body, but also for the mind, to cutting-edge procedures, with surgeries using modern, non-invasive techniques.

«Maintaining the weight you lose is difficult; just look at the numbers of the past, when the treatment of obesity was only done clinically, with diet and drugs: patients who immediately stopped taking drugs regained weight, living with the so-called ‘accordion’ effect”, says Flávio Kawamoto, coordinator of the Moriah Hospital Obesity and Diabetes Institute. “Obesity is a chronic disease and, if we do not maintain continuous treatment with regular monitoring, the chances of controlling weight and associated diseases decrease,” he adds.

Surgery is recommended based on the patient’s medical history and is one of the alternatives in the treatment of obesity. Moriah has a robotic platform called Da Vinci Xi, one of the most advanced in the country, which guarantees a more precise and consequently safer surgery, reducing hospitalization times and also any post-operative pain.

“Moriah has the best technologies to perform minimally invasive digestive system surgeries with video laparoscopy and robotics,” says Kawamoto. “Among the most commonly performed techniques are: sleeve gastrectomy (sleeve), in which the gastric chamber is reduced – with the new shape the stomach has a volume of approximately 150-200 ml; gastric bypass, in which the stomach is reduced (volume of approximately 50 ml) with an intestinal deviation, especially indicated in cases of metabolic disease associated or not with high BMI; intestinal bipartition, a technique that consists of reducing the stomach as in sleeve gastrectomy associated with a distal intestinal deviation, the main indication for surgery for obesity with metabolic disease (type 2 diabetes)”, explains the doctor.

Moriah also looks carefully at the issue of diabetes, which already affects 9% of the Brazilian population, placing the country in fourth place in the world ranking of total cases. Diabetes can be triggered by obesity, and failure to properly treat it can lead to serious consequences, such as kidney failure, vision loss and even limb amputation. Being a chronic disease, it requires continuous, multidisciplinary and careful treatment, offered by the Obesity and Diabetes Institute of Moriah Hospital.

Celebrated on November 14, World Diabetes Day was established in 1991 by the World Health Organization (WHO) together with the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) to reinforce the importance of raising public awareness of this disease. And it was this month that Moriah performed the first metabolic surgery for a patient with type 2 diabetes.

“It’s a liberation. A liberation is achieved through this surgical help. The patient stops taking several medications, taking a small morsel every day, which is insulin,” explains Dr. Ana Olga Nagano Gomes Fernandes, director of the Institute of obesity and diabetes by Moriah Hospital. “This is what drives us to continue working, to want to do more and more, to show what is possible and welcome this patient safely and effectively, treating the cause of the problem,” she says. “The Moriah Hospital Obesity and Diabetes Institute was created last year, in November. Today we are one year old and we want it to grow further,” she celebrates.

Source: Terra

Ben

Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.