Hemas Hospitals offers new hope and long term solution for weight loss

Opening of ‘Weight Loss Clinic’ of Hemas Hospital Wattala (from left): Director/General Manager Dr. Lasantha Karunasekera, Dietician Nilushi Mudalige, Consultant General Surgeon Dr. Buwanenthran Adhavan, Medical Officer In-Charge of Suwatha Piyasa Dr. Linusha Rathnayake and Apollo Nova Hospitals Chennai Department of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Consultant Chief Bariatric Surgeon Dr. Neha Shah

Acknowledging that obesity is no longer considered a cosmetic issue that is caused by overeating and a lack of self control but a chronic progressive disease resulting from multiple environmental and genetic factors, Hemas Hospitals recently started a weight management clinic within their Wattala premises. Clients can now avail themselves of a team of professionals from surgeons to dieticians and nutritionists plus exercise instructors, all within the privacy of a consultation, to help them attain a new level of health and well-being.

Rising to the demand that for many obese patients long term, sustained weight loss could be elusive, despite strict diet and weight loss programmes, the hospital has also commenced Bariatric surgery, a field of medicine that specialises in treating obesity. Ceylon Medical Journal estimates the prevalence of obesity as being 20% in males and a staggering 36.5% in females in Sri Lanka. Many diet and weight loss ‘quick solutions’ exists but questions are raised as to how effective they could be and how long-lasting, given the degree of obesity.

Addressing stage 3 obesity (classified sometimes as a woman of average height weighing over 100 kg) as a complex clinical condition, needing modern treatment protocols including surgery to manage the drastic and sometimes fatal effects of excess weight, Hemas Hospital in Wattala  offers Bariatric surgery within their weight management suite. 

Led by consultant surgeon Apollo Nova Hospitals Chennai Department of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Consultant Chief Bariatric Surgeon Dr. Neha Shah, along with a local team including endocrinologists, cardiologists, physicians, anaesthetists and dieticians all work together to help the Bariatric patient heal and succeed on their path to weight loss, safely and effectively.

“The disease of obesity is extremely costly not just in terms of finances but its negative impact on individual’s health,” pointed out Hemas Hospitals, Wattala General Manager Dr. Lasantha Karunasekera who went on to state that due to its progressive nature, obesity and being overweight requires life-long control and management.

With Bariatric surgery being new to Sri Lanka, Dr. Neha Shah will assist the local surgeons to perform the surgeries during the first six months by allocating her time to train and skills develop the staff team. 

The hospital’s visiting specialist surgeons, Dr. Buwanendran Adawan and Dr. Sumudu Kumarage who also conduct the procedures in Bariatric and weight management, jointly expressed that  “Healthy eating and maintaining a proper body weight can help individuals be in good shape while improving overall health and greatly reducing the risks of many common conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, enlarged livers, osteo-arthritis, ulcerative colitis and even some types of cancers, which are brought upon by unwholesome bingeing and lifestyles.” 

 Hemas Hospitals, being in the forefront of medical and healthcare, will customise weight management programmes depending on the individual’s background and lifestyle. Adopting a policy that each schedule has to be tailor-made, they will assist clients through education and monitoring, achieve and maintain a balanced ideal weight. Being in fine fettle will also prevent weight related problems that manifest in the form of non-communicable diseases, which if identified will be treated upon promptly. For this, the multi disciplinary team of physicians, nutritionists, behavioural and exercise trainers are all included in the plan of action.