On August 23rd it reports that between 2006-7 and 2011-12 the number of gastric bypass operations increased from 858 to 5,407, according to figures from the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre.
Over the same period the number of gastric band operations also increased, but at a slower rate, from 715 to 1,316.
A gastric bypass involves making the stomach much smaller and shortening the length of the small intestine. This makes it impossible to eat large meals and reduces absorption of nutrients.
It has become much more popular than gastric banding, which involves inserting an adjustable and removable band that limits the effective size of the stomach, but nothing else.
Surgeons said the increases indicated there was a large unmet need for weight loss (‘bariatric’) surgery, rather than any sizeable increase in the number of morbidly obese people since 2006.
For a full version of the story click on the link below:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9494510/NHS-turning-to-weight-loss-surgery-to-tackle-obesity.html