GASTRIC BYPASS IN IRAN

INTRODUCTION TO GASTRIC BYPASS

There are overweight patients who had tried for years to lose weight through exercise and diet but didn’t achieve their goals. Gastric bypass (Roux-En-Y) is one of the most common weight loss (bariatric) surgery methods and like other weight loss surgeries, it will be done just when non-surgical weight loss methods like workout and diet didn’t work. All weight loss surgeries are done when the patient has serious weight-related problems like sleep disorders. Gastric bypass surgical procedure is like this: the surgeon creates a small pouch (bag) from the stomach and connects it to the small intestine. After the surgery, the food bypasses all of the stomachs (just goes through the small pouch) and directly goes to the small intestine. So swallowed food bypasses most of the stomach and the first part of the small intestine. The primary reason for all weight loss surgeries is, of course, losing excess weight, but in fact losing this excess weight reduces risk of weight-related health problems like: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure and cholesterol, obstructive sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes and even infertility.

GASTRIC BYPASS IN IRAN

Gastric bypass is one of the most popular weight loss surgeries in Iran like many other countries. Iranian people have had bad eating habits from past days; as an example, they have been eating a lot of rice and meat for dinner, add eating a lot of fast food and junk food to that. These bad eating habits have made obesity a national problem in Iran like western countries. By improvement in bariatric surgery in Iran in the last decades, weight loss surgeries have become more popular in Iran. Nowadays, Iranian surgeons and facilities are among the best in the world. Affordable low prices plus high-quality services and good surgeons in Iran and lack of good affordable services in Middle Eastern countries have made Iran, the hub of bariatric surgeries in the region. Many Arab and Turkish patients who live in the Middle East and Europe come to Iran for bariatric surgeries every year. Iran’s medical services main advantages are: highly qualified surgeons, modern facilities, affordable prices and no-wait list in private medical sector.

GASTRIC BYPASS COSTS AROUND THE WORLD

Cost of bariatric surgery other than the type of procedure depends on many factors like location, hospital quality and surgery team fees. In fact, the main factor is location because the costs of living and services are the factors which determine facility cost and team fees. That’s why Iran is the most affordable place for most treatments. Iran is the most affordable place to undergo bariatric surgery. The cost of the same quality gastric bypass surgery is about 4,000 in Iran while it is about 20,000$ in Canada and 24,000$ in the US. Adding travel costs to this figure, gastric bypass surgery costs up to 5,000$ in Iran tops.

DECIDING ON WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY METHOD

There are different kinds of weight loss surgery methods like gastric sleeve, gastric bypass or gastric balloon. They are restrictive methods, meaning they limit the eating quantity; some other methods only stop absorbing food by the digestive system. After checking the patient both physically and mentally and discussing risks, benefits, and changes of lifestyle -the patient must commit to-, the surgeon decides on the surgery method. If you are only overweight you could lose weight just by changing your lifestyle habits. But if you are obese or extremely obese and have tried for at least two years to lose weight by non-surgical methods like exercise or diet and couldn’t get a result, you are a weight loss surgery candidate. If your BMI is 30 to 35, you could be treated by gastric balloon and gastric banding and if your BMI is more than 35 gastric sleeve or gastric bypass surgeries would be chosen based on some other factors and surgeons’ decision. You can calculate your BMI by dividing your weight (Kg) by your square height in meters.