Solutions.
Giving you treatment options.
Life Weight Loss is the only weight loss centre in Australia that provides every weight loss option at one location, with a nationally-renowned Complete Care program.
We have an experienced and friendly team of health professionals that provide the highest quality care available. Our experienced Dietitian is a specialist in weight loss. Our surgeon is skilled in performing every weight loss procedure available in Australia (he also performs all of your aftercare himself). We have a team of Exercise Physiologists and a fully equipped specialist fitness centre onsite to assist you to get moving in a comfortable and professional environment, and we also stock the most advanced meal replacement products on the market. You will not find a more comprehensive weight loss service anywhere. At Life Weight Loss we offer the complete care you need to lose weight and live life!
Specialist Exercise Advice
If you would like to be more active, Life Weight Loss Centre provides the best exercise advice and support you can get. We provide individual exercise advice, home-based program design, fitness centre memberships, educational workshops, exercise classes as well as motivational support to keep you on track. Our Exercise Physiologists take great care in providing advice to suit your lifestyle, age and health status. We accommodate all experience levels, dicky knees, crook tickers and those with two left feet. For those that undergo weight loss surgery, research has shown that people who participate in certain types of exercise prior to and following surgery, get the best results. We can show you how.
Dietitian Advice
Our experienced Dietitians offer the latest cutting-edge dietary advice, and practical ideas for nourishing your body with good food. We provide individual Dietitian advice, diet workshops, shopping tours, healthy cooking advice and much more. We help you to develop, not only the knowledge but the skills to make healthy food choices easier for you and your family. Our Dietitians are experienced in managing a wide range of health conditions including weight problems, diabetes, heart problems, cancer, blood pressure, fatty liver disease, cholesterol and much more. For people undergoing weight loss surgery, we provide clear and simple information to help you to get the best results you can.
Psychology
Motivation and maintaining positive thinking is half the battle with weight loss. Our psychologist specialises in supporting people through the difficult psychological challenges throughout the weight loss journey.
Some people benefit from strategies to keep motivated and deal with set-backs, others benefit from treating depression or eating disorders. Whatever you need, we can make it happen.
Surgical Options
Our surgeon is highly respected with experience performing a range of weight loss procedures. Each procedure has unique advantages and disadvantages, and are suited to people with different needs. Many surgeons are only trained to perform gastric bands and therefore they tend to discourage other weight loss procedures because they do not have the training or experience to offer these options to you. We can, so that you can have a choice.
We believe that no procedure is necessarily better than another, only better suited to an individuals needs. At Life Weight Loss Centre we get better results because we offer a range of weight loss options so you can choose the right option for your needs. In total we offer four surgical options : the Intragastric balloon, Gastric band, the Sleeve and the Bypass. Below we have outlined the advantages and disadvantages of each.
1. Intragastric Balloon
The intragastric balloon is actually a non-surgical procedure which is performed under anaesthetic. A balloon-like device is inserted into the stomach using an endoscope (which is inserted through the mouth), and is then filled with saline. The procedure takes only half an hour.
The intragastric balloon can only be used for a maximum of 6 months and then must be removed in the same way it was placed.
Who is this procedure suited to?
- For temporary use only in super-morbidly obese people (BMI>50) to downsize for eligibility to other weight loss procedures.
- In mildly overweight people for temporary weight loss.
What are the advantages?
- Non surgical.
- Provides a weight loss option for people who are not eligible for surgery.
- Can be a temporary option for people in the lower BMI ranges.
- Has been shown to cause temporary 13-24kg weight loss in 6 months.
What are the disadvantages?
- Weight regain is common once the balloon is removed.
- There is a small risk the balloon may be damaged requiring removal. A blue dye is placed inside the balloon which indicates if the balloon is damaged.
- A small number of patients cannot continue more than a few days with intragastric balloons due to nausea and vomiting.
2. Gastric Banding (Lap band)
The Gastric Band (or lap-band) is an inflatable band that is placed around the upper part of the stomach using keyhole surgery. This creates a small ‘pouch’ in the stomach above the band which slows down the passage of food and only allows a small amount of food to be held in the pouch at any time. This gives the sensation of being comfortably full after eating a smaller amount of food and makes you feel fuller for longer. A tube from the band is attached to an access port placed under the skin in the middle of the tummy which is later used to adjust the inflation of the band to achieve the desired weight loss and minimise any associated side effects.
Who is this procedure suited to?
- Obese and morbidly obese people.
- It is not ideal for people with eating disorders, people who eat or drink large amounts of soft drinks, milkshakes, beer or soft foods that are high calories (i.e. ice cream). This is because these types of foods increase the chance that the band will not be effective in the long term.
What are the advantages?
- The Gastric band is the least invasive surgical option with the lowest risks.
- The risk of mortality is 2.5 times lower than commonly performed procedures like gall bladder surgery.
- Hospital stay is generally overnight.
- This procedure does not change the shape of the stomach or bowel.
- The band can be removed or deflated at any time allowing the stomach to go back to its original size and shape. (Although this procedure is considered reversible, the band is almost never removed unless there is a complication).
- The band can be used during pregnancy, however the inflation of the band is simply adjusted.
- Many procedures have been performed over more than 15 years with numerous studies supporting its safety and effectiveness.
- The band helps patients to lose 50-60% of their excess weight.
- Only requires minimal vitamin and mineral supplementation after the procedure, with no nutritional or metabolic problems.
What are the disadvantages?
- By comparison, Gastric Banding is slightly less effective for weight loss than other surgical options.
- Gastric banding requires very specific dietary guidelines to be followed after surgery. Most patients will generally be unable to eat certain foods such as steak, bread and sausages for example.
- Although it might sound appealing that the band is adjustable, the downside is that the band does require regular medical reviews after the procedure to continually adjust the settings.
- Because the band is adjustible it also means that it is possible to cheat. If you have a history of eating problems or have difficulty reducing high calorie soft foods, soft drinks or beer in your diet, this may not be the best option for you.
- Even though the band is reversible, it is only ever removed if there is a complication. After being removed, it is expected that any weight loss would be regained.
- There is a small risk of the band slipping. People who have eating disorders or who find it difficult to follow dietary guidelines during recovery can cause slippage to occur. The risk of this occuring in our patients is very low, about 0.66%.
- There is a risk of Gastric band erosion. This is where the band erodes into the stomach resulting in the procedure being ineffective and leading to weight gain. In this case the band would be removed and replaced. Our surgeon has never experienced this complication.
- In the past some problems were experienced with the tube that connects the band to the port. In the past this occured in about 5% of patients, however new banding technology means that this problem is almost non-existant.
- There is a risk that the saline in the band can leak – we have never experienced this complication.
- In the event of a complication during surgery, it may be necessary to convert to an open surgical procedure, leaving a slightly larger scar.
3. Laparoscopic Sleeve
Similar to the band, this procedure is also performed by keyhole surgery. Becuase obese people have much larger stomach’s than people who are normal weight, they need to eat more to feel full. The Sleeve is a procedure where a section of the stomach pouch is removed reducing the size of the stomach and therefore giving the sensation of feeling comfortably full after eating a smaller amount of food, and also making you feel fuller for longer. The procedure generally results in no pain or discomfort whatsoever. Research shows that the Sleeve consistently achieves greater weight loss than the gastric band.
Who is this procedure suited to?
- Obese and morbidly obese people.
- People who may have difficulty maintaining stringent dietary restrictions in the long term.
- This procedure is suited to a wide range of people.
What are the advantages?
- Typical weight loss is around 60-80% of excess weight within two years. On average about 10-20% greater weight loss than the band.
- This procedure is called a ’set and forget’ procedure with no need for regular medical reviews and adjustments like the gastric band.
- People may return to more fibrous solid foods over time such as steak, sausages and bread, which is not always possible with the band.
- The sleeve does not cause any changes to food absorption.
- Hospital stay is generally 3 days, just for monitoring.
- Requires minimal vitamin and mineral supplementation after the procedure.
What are the disadvantages?
- A possible complication associated with this procedure is when leaking occurs from the suture line where the section of the stomach is removed. This generally requires surgery to repair the leak and monitoring in hospital. New technology has addressed this problem reducing the risk of this complication to below 1%.
4. Gastric Bypass
The gastric bypass is the procedure that has the greatest potential weight loss, but also comes with the greatest risks. This procedure involves first removing a section of the stomach (as seen above with the sleeve) and then reattaching a section of the intestine so that food bypasses the area normally responsible for absorbing fat. Although there are some additional risks, this procedure can be highly effective in super-mobidly obese people who are exposed to significant potential health risks unless they can reduce thier weight.
Who is the procedure suited to?
- Super-morbidly obese people requiring large amounts of weight loss.
What are the advantages?
- This procudure has been shown to result in the greatest weight loss, 80-90% of excess weight in 2 years.
- There are no food restrictions required following the procedure.
What are the disadvanages?
- This procedure is generally performed as open surgery, not keyhole surgery.
- Due to the structural change in the bowel, food absorption is affected. Patients are required to take vitamen and mineral supplements on an ongoing basis.
- This procedure is associated with the greatest risks including leaking, surgical complications, infection, and has about a 1% mortality rate.
- After the procedure it usually causes 4-5 foul smelling bowel movements a day.
- This procedure has been associated with skeletal and metabolic problems in the long term.
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