Dr. Harsh Sheth, bariatric surgeon, says it is safe to undergo bariatric surgery during the COVID pandemic.

Dr. Harsh Sheth, Mumbai’s leading bariatric surgeon

Morbid obesity is on the rise across the world and in India too. An obese individual has restricted mobility and can fall prey to a host of comorbidities. In India alone, nearly 15% of the population is obese with a majority of those being centrally obese.

Bariatric surgery is a viable solution that helps obese people recover and regain their health and adopt a healthy lifestyle. Dr. Harsh Sheth, one of the best bariatric surgeon in Mumbai, attempts to resolve patient queries about whether it is safe to go ahead with bariatric surgery during the COVID 19 pandemic situation?

1. Hello Dr., you are doing an outstanding service in helping obese people recover their health quotient. Please share your views on the obesity trends in India.

Ans. Thank you. At present, more than 140 million people are obese in our country. It is very worrisome that 80% of these obese individuals have at least one of the obesity-related comorbidities. Obesity is an epidemic, along with comorbidities such as diabetes which needs to be tackled on a war footing.

1. When would you recommend a bariatric surgery?

Ans. I would recommend bariatric surgery to a patient with BMI of 32.5 and more, i.e., Class II obesity and above. If the BMI score is between 32.5-37.5, bariatric surgery will be recommended if the patient has at least two obesity-associated comorbidities (diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, etc). A patient with BMI of more than 37.5 with or without any comorbidities is also eligible for bariatric surgery. However, just falling in the BMI categories isn't sufficient to undergo surgery. The psychological fitness of the patient is equally important.

For performing bariatric surgery in Mumbai, the bariatric team performs a thorough assessment of the patient in terms of motivation and psychological fitness to undergo surgery, a unique offering from most other bariatric setups.

1. Notwithstanding the current pandemic situation, which is taking a severe toll on us, is it safe to go ahead with bariatric surgery?
2. A very apt question! A few days ago, Clinicspots, a healthcare portal also posed the same question to me. Well, obesity has been linked to adverse outcomes in individuals infected with COVID-19. The coronavirus pandemic has unleashed worse outcomes in obese patients and placed the spotlight on the obesity pandemic plaguing the world.

Considering the above, bariatric surgery will help obese individuals lose weight and improve their overall health to prevent them from succumbing to COVID-19 complications.

The medical fraternity and hospitals have in place COVID-specific protocols to follow regarding bariatric surgery to safeguard the patient's health and avoid getting infected during the immediate perioperative period. The patient will be guided in-depth during the consultation.

Vaccinated obese patients are preferred on the wait list for bariatric surgery. They may be either partially or fully vaccinated. Bariatric surgery can be scheduled after a week of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

Obese patients opting for bariatric surgery during the pandemic need to follow specific protocols and precautions to avoid getting infected in the immediate perioperative period. The precautions are explained in detail at the time of the first consultation.

The hospital chosen for surgery should not treat COVID patients or have their COVID patients accomodated in an entirely separate facility. The doctors, staff nurses, and allied medical staff are randomly checked for COVID at regular intervals while their body temperature and other symptoms are checked daily, while maintaining masking and social distancing guidelines.

Patient safety is every doctor's priority, and hence an obese patient should feel safe and secure enough to begin his or her weight loss journey.