By LYNDSAY MOSS
HEALTH CORRESPONDENT Scotsman
A SURGEON opted to go under the knife himself for an operation that is becoming popular in the fight against obesity.

Chris Oliver lost more than seven stone after the procedure to limit his food intake. And now he is to donate his surgical robes, or “blues”, which he had to have specially made to cope with his 26-stone bulk, to a museum.

He is hoping his story will inspire others who have struggled with serious weight problems to consider the radical operation.

Mr Oliver, 47, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, decided on the operation - known as bariatric surgery - last year after visiting the Great Wall of China and being unable to walk it.

He had also developed type-2 diabetes linked to his obesity, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Although Mr Oliver never struggled with his weight early in life, the pressures of work and professional exams saw him pile on ten stone in 20 years.

“Making the choice to have surgery took me a while, and I guess for many people the choice is really hard.

It’s the individual who finally makes the choice,” Mr Oliver said.

After considering the complications, and writing a living will in case something went wrong, he had a gastric band fitted at the Nuffield Hospital, Glasgow, in February. The band is a belt that is tightened around the stomach, reducing the amount of food that can be consumed.

Mr Oliver has since lost almost 100lb, taking him to 19st, and is hoping to shed a further 4st by Christmas. The father of two teenage daughters has also been taking regular exercise, including cycling. “I’ve had to cut links out of my watch strap and all my shoes are too big,” he said.

Mr Oliver has just handed over his surgical blues for public display. “I can now fit into normal surgical wear, so I donated them to the Royal College of Surgeons Museum - a bit of bariatric social surgical history,” he said.

The operation came to prominence when the former television presenter Anne Diamond admitted last year that she had had a similar procedure.

Choosing to pay for gastric band surgery - which costs between £7,500 and £8,000 - means patients can avoid long NHS waiting lists. But surgeons will still carry out the operation only as a last resort.

David Galloway, a consultant bariatric surgeon in Glasgow, said he had performed up to 500 gastric-band operations in the past seven years - 200 of these in the past year alone.

“My strong impression is that this type of surgery is increasing,” he said. “It can be difficult to access this surgery on the NHS, which rightly tries every other option for patients.”

Mr Galloway said weight-control surgery was not a “magic bullet” and was not the only option for patients. But he added:

“For the right patients, surgery can be a passport to a happier and more fulfilled life.”

Shona Robison, the public health minister, said: “Surgery for obesity is rare and should only be used when all appropriate and available non-surgical measures have failed.”

Centres for obesity surgery are run in Glasgow and Aberdeen, with plans for a further one in Dundee or Edinburgh.

THE PLASTIC BAND THAT STOPS YOU EATING
GASTRIC banding is the most commonly used weight-control surgery in the UK.

The plastic band acts like a belt, positioned around the top portion of the stomach.

This reduces the space in the stomach so patients feel full after eating only a small quantity of food - around three small meals a day.

• A more major procedure is a gastric bypass operation. This works by making the stomach smaller and removing part of the bowel to make the digestive system shorter. It means patients can only eat small meals and their body will take up fewer calories from what they eat.

• Any kind of weight-control surgery is a major procedure, with a small risk of complications. Doctors also warn surgery will not be successful unless patients exercise and eat properly.

• The risk of complications means some patients opt for quicker fixes such as liposuction. But the fat can easily return unless a healthy diet is followed.

• Doctors can also prescribe certain weight-control drugs.

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