'I want my healthy weight back'

In Europe, Belgium is one of the leaders in Bariatric surgery. Why?


This type of surgery is quite new in Europe, so it's often a difficult job to find the experienced surgeon near to you. And when you find the surgeon near to you, the second problem is probably the waiting list. Thirdly, if you decide not to cope with the average waiting list of 2 or 3 years because your health can't wait any longer and you decide to 'go private', you might face high to very high costs to have the procedure done. 


Here we can find the answer why Belgium became a leader in bariatric surgery:
1. The Belgian flexible healthcare system does not create waiting lists
2. No waiting lists in a flexible healthcare system allows international patients 
3. The previous factors make surgeons decide to specialize 
4. A high degree of specialization has an effect on the quality


Answer: Available specialists, high quality care and affordable costs.


Bariatric surgery refers to the medical discipline treating obesity. It involves the restriction of the amount of food your body is able to process and/or the alternation of the digestive process. Bariatric surgery has increased in popularity over the past decade. A growing number  men and women choose for a surgical intervention as an alternative for living with severe overweight. But the most important reason to choose for a bariatric surgical procedure is a medical one. Obesity can cause a wide range of disorders such as high blood pressure, sleep apnea or type 2 diabetes. But obesity can also dramatically affect someone's daily life, physically and emotionally. Regaining self-esteem and feeling more confident leads to a higher standard of joy of life.

Most common types of bariatric surgery are decreasing the size of the stomach,  such as the gastric banding, the gastric sleeve or gastric plication procedure.  A second type of procedures also alters the digestive system in a way that the intestines don't absorb the nutrients and calories in the usual manner.

Not every person is a possible candidate for bariatric surgery. The general principles are:

• there was an attempt to lose weight through a normal diet during an extensive period
• there is a commitment and awareness that achieving the weight loss involves a change of lifestyle
• the BMI is higher than 35 in case a gastric sleeve surgery, a gastric plication is considered (in some cases a BMI of 32 will be accepted), a mini gastic bypass or RNY bypass is considered
• the BMI is higher than 40 in case a Duodenal Switch is considered

For more information about bariatric surgery, contact the B4Care office: info@b4care.com or read more on http://www.b4care.com/en/bariatric-weight-loss-surgery