After getting people to cope with their diabetes worries for decades, Dr Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre is now ready to ‘cut’ the fat out of obese people, literally. The centre launched a Bariatric Surgery Unit on their Gopalapuram campus in collaboration with GEM Obesity and Diabetes Surgery Centre, a unit of Gem Hospitals and Research Centre, Coimbatore. This makes Dr Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre, the first diabetes centre in India to offer bariatric surgery.
It was inaugurated by Dr J Radhakrishnan, Secretary to Government, Health and Family Welfare Department, Govt of Tamil Nadu. Dr R M Anjana, Joint Managing Director of the chain of medical centres, said “Obesity is a chronic disorder with excess body fat accumulated to the extent that it has serious health implications. It is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in India and according to the ICMR-INDIAB study, approximately 135 million people are obese in India! Obesity, as we know, is a complex and difficult disorder to manage. However even 5- 10 per cent of initial weight loss has considerable benefits on reducing cardiovascular risk. Weight loss after surgery is more likely to be maintained in the long term than with lifestyle measures. At our centre we follow a holistic approach to weight loss. We have services such as lifestyle changes including nutrition, exercise and behavioural (Psychological counselling) services which form the cornerstone to all successful weight management programmes. In addition we are now offering Bariatric surgery to make it complete.”