Bariatric Surgery Offers Effective Treatment to Metabolic Syndrome in Severely Obese

Rapid growth and development in the economy of Hong Kong and the Mainland brings about dietary changes and sedentary lifestyles. Obesity and its associated metabolic syndrome (MES) are increasingly becoming a health and social burden to the region. MES is a collection of heart disease risk factors that increase the chances of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. It is also associated with premature mortality. A recent study estimates the prevalence of MES in Hong Kong's Chinese population to be around 17%.

While life-style modification, exercise, dietary training and medical therapy may be effective in controlling MES in slightly overweight people, these simple measures usually fail with the severely obese. Bariatric surgery has been proven to be the most effective and long-lasting measure in the management of such a condition. In recent years, it has become one of the most common operations in the Western world and is gaining popularity in Asia.

The Department of Surgery and the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics of the Faculty of Medicine recently completed a study on the prevalence of MES in patients seeking bariatric surgery. A total of 502 patients were prospectively evaluated since 2002. About 82% were classified as severely obese with body mass index (BMI) of over 30. Study results discovered that the prevalence of MES in this group of patients was 67% — four times that of the normal population. A total of 116 severely obese patients (BMI > 30) with MES were treated with various bariatric procedures, including intragastric balloon, laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding and laparoscopic gastric bypass operation. After surgery, 99.1% showed significant improvement of MES and 61.2% of them were completely cured. All procedures were carried out by a minimally invasive approach. There was zero mortality and minimal complication. The results confirmed the feasibility and efficacy of bariatric surgery in treating MES among severely obese Chinese patients.