Excess weight puts the health of one in eight people at risk – LOCAL

Recognizing the alarming extent of this silent disease, Marbella’s Quironsalud Hospital has a comprehensive obesity treatment unit that offers an expert and personalized approach to each case.

“This medical platform is composed of professionals from different specialties, including nutritionists, nutritionists, endocrinologists, digestive specialists, surgeons and psychologists, who together provide this global approach,” details Dr. Javier Padillo, senior health consultant for this project.

This coordinated and interdisciplinary working model ensures patients are supported throughout the entire process by a team of leading experts, as well as access to cutting-edge obesity treatments.

“The strategic design of this division allows everyone in their field to have the opportunity to offer the latest technology or the latest scientific and technological advances. Thus, we have a completely renewed perspective on the treatment of obesity, regardless of the therapeutic option (bariatric surgery, endoscopic treatment or latest generation drugs),” emphasizes Dr. Padillo.

Although the main cause of obesity is an unbalanced diet or a sedentary lifestyle, there is a percentage of cases whose origin is hormonal in nature.

The goal of the Comprehensive Obesity Treatment Unit is to determine the cause of excess weight problems and determine the most convenient procedure.

For this reason, the treatment regimen begins with an endocrinological examination, “which allows us to find out the true cause of excess weight and therefore determine the steps that need to be taken to restore the patient’s health. Not all obesity diagnoses are the same, and they should not be treated the same. Surgery may be appropriate for the patient, but is completely counterproductive in cases where nutritional deficiencies are identified or there is a high risk to his life. Fortunately, there are many alternatives that allow us to take action and correct the condition of excess weight,” explains Dr. Rida Naguib Raya, Head of the Endocrinology and Nutrition Service at Marbella Hospital.

Currently, there are two surgical methods that account for 80-90% of bariatric surgery procedures: gastric sleeve and bypass.

Dr. Daniel Palomo, a specialist in general surgery and the digestive system, explains the characteristics of each: “The first is to reduce the size of the stomach, and this is an operation that reduces weight precisely because it is restrictive, significantly reducing the capacity of the stomach.

“The second technique is called Bypass and is usually recommended for more obese patients with diabetes. What we are doing is redirecting the passage of food, making the stomach cavity smaller and shortening the intestines. The results are very stable,” duck.

For non-surgical procedures, the most common methods are called Apollo or endoscopic gastric sleeve. In this area, the Digestive Department of the Quironsalud Marbella Hospital is one of the oldest units in the province dedicated to the development and application of both procedures.

According to Dr. Alfonso Alcalde, a specialist at this service, “Our contribution is important in providing care to patients without the possibility of surgery. This circumstance can occur, as explained by Dr. Alfonso Alcalde, for various reasons. One of them is a high rate of excess weight. Endoscopic techniques can reduce body weight before surgery in the operating room to reduce morbidity and possible complications that may occur after surgery.”

Finally, it should be noted that the Comprehensive Obesity Treatment Unit of the Quironsalud Marbella Hospital bases its criteria on clinical guidelines and offers the patient the most suitable path to achieve the goal.

Through this process, it gives you the tools to adopt new healthy lifestyle habits for the next phase.