Obesity (Overweight) treatment in Israel

Obesity is not only an aesthetic, but also a medical problem. Bigger the weight is, greater the health risks are. Obesity increases risks of developing diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke, cholelithiasis, osteoarthritis and many other pathologies. Nonetheless, you can get rid of an excess weight. If a person is not able to do this at home, with the help of diets and training, then he can go to Israel to resort to bariatric surgery.

Who needs weight loss surgery?

According to the World Health Organization, obesity is considered an increase in body mass index to 30 kg/m² or more. However, the operation is not usually performed in people with this weight, since its normalization requires only limited nutrition and increased levels of physical activity.

The indications for bariatric surgery are: 

• Increased BMI to 40 kg/m² or more
• Body mass index more than 35 kg/m² in case of development of diseases associated with obesity
• Inefficiency of conservative treatments for obesity

Sheba medical center, Assuta and Rambam hospitals, as well as many other clinics in Israel perform bariatric surgery. This country offers the low cost of medical services, which attracts many patients from other countries.

What surgical procedures are performed in Israel?

In the Departments of Gastroenterology and General Surgery at the hospitals in Israel, the most common operations and procedures for weight loss are as follows.

Gastric balloon placement. This is a non-invasive procedure aimed at the reduction of the stomach capacity. A doctor places an endoscopic balloon, which is then inflated. It fills most of the space in the stomach, and thereby helps obese patients control their appetite better.

The treatment method is rather popular, because it has a low cost, does not require any incisions and does not carry significant health risks. Patients with a gastric balloon do not need rehabilitation. However, this is a temporary procedure, because the balloon will be removed after 4-6 months. During this time, a person should lose weight, and this requires a diet with restriction of high-calorie foods.

Adjustable gastric banding. This is the most sparing operation with a quick recovery of the patient. There is no intervention on the stomach as such, since the doctor does not remove it, does not suture and does not make incisions. He only puts on a ring that separates the upper part of the organ. As a rule, this ring is made of silicone. It is not rejected by the body and does not cause inflammatory reactions.

In the upper part, a "small stomach" with a capacity of about 15 ml is separated. In the future, after eating, food first enters it, and only then moves into the lower parts of the gastrointestinal tract. This leads to feeling full after eating small portions. Nevertheless, a person still needs to control the diet, to avoid high-calorie foods. Otherwise, the results of the operation may be insufficient.

Adjustable gastric banding has the following advantages:

• Minimal invasiveness
• Safety
• Reversibility (at the request of the patient, the ring can be removed during the second operation)
• Good result – most patients lose about half the excess weight

It is worth mentioning the disadvantages of such an operation. In 15% of cases, it is ineffective due to the insufficient dietary control. In 2-3% of cases, the ring is shifted, and doctors have to perform a second operation to remove it.

Sleeve gastroplasty. This is one of the most popular weight loss surgeries in Asia. During surgery, a doctor performs a longitudinal resection of the stomach. The organ turns into a thin "tube" or "sleeve" with a diameter of 1 to 3 cm, a capacity of 80-120 ml. As a result, weight loss occurs due to early saturation, as well as decreased secretory activity and decreased production of the hunger hormone ghrelin (doctors remove exactly the part of the stomach where this hormone is primarily produced).

This is a sparing operation with a low risk of complications. It is good, because it does not impair digestion, does not violate the absorption of vitamins and minerals. The surgical intervention can be performed even in patients for whom other operations are contraindicated due to concomitant diseases. The weight loss is on average 60% over 2 years. The risk of complications in good hospitals does not exceed 1%.

Gastric bypass surgery. This is the most popular operation in North America. It has been used for more than half a century and is considered the "gold standard" of bariatric surgery. It used to be performed with an open surgical technique, but today gastric bypass is performed during laparoscopic surgery.

The essence of the intervention is as follows: with the help of suturing devices, a doctor separates the upper part of the stomach and forms an anastomosis with a small intestine. As a result, food passes most of the stomach, passes by the duodenum and passes part of the small intestine. Therefore, some nutrients are not digested and are not absorbed by the body.

The advantages of this approach to treating obesity:

• This is one of the most effective operations, which leads to weight loss due to two mechanisms, namely reduction of the stomach and malabsorption of nutrients
• Patients lose up to 75% of excess weight during the first year after the surgery
• You can lose weight without consciously restricting nutrition (although most patients change their taste preferences and they no longer want to eat high-calorie foods)
• High efficiency even in the most severe forms of obesity
• Compensation for diabetes mellitus in most patients (two-thirds of them no longer need sugar-lowering drugs, the rest improves carbohydrate metabolism and can reduce the dose of drugs)

The disadvantages of the operation are the higher cost, the risk of complications, the need to take vitamin and mineral complexes. During the surgical procedure, the gallbladder has to be removed, since the risk of gallstone disease increases as a result of gastric bypass surgery.

Biliopancreatic diversion. This is not a common surgery. Although it is the most effective surgery, but at the same time it is the most traumatic one. It also causes complications more often than other interventions. The operation impairs digestion, since bile and pancreatic enzymes are diverted into the lower ileum. The excess weight quickly disappears after the surgery, but patients may develop a deficiency of fat-soluble vitamins and proteins. Some patients need constant intake of enzymes and antisecretory drugs.

Most hospitals also perform liposuction. It has a relatively low price and allows improving a person's appearance quickly. Nonetheless, the procedure does not reduce the risks of obesity to health. It is primarily recommended for those categories of patients in whom the amount of subcutaneous fat significantly exceeds the proportion of visceral (located near the internal organs) fat. This type of body fat is more characteristic of women. Liposuction can also complement bariatric surgery. It is often combined with abdominoplasty (tummy tuck).

Why is it better to undergo treatment in Israel?

Doctors in any country in the world perform surgery to save a person from excess weight. Nevertheless, many patients prefer to go to Israel. The country offers affordable prices with a high level of medical services.

Here are the main benefits of bariatric surgery in Israel.

• Experience. Doctors working in the clinics in Israel undergo training and internships not only in their own country, but also abroad. Many of them have already performed hundreds weight loss surgeries, so they achieve better results with minimal risk of complications.
• Minimally invasive methods. The vast majority of operations are performed with laparoscopic access. The intervention is performed through several small incisions, so patients suffer less from pain, recover faster, they are earlier discharged from the hospital and may go home, and complications are less common.
• Specialized departments. Some hospitals in Israel have special departments for patients with obesity. For them, the operating rooms are equipped with massive tables, reliable fixing devices, special laparoscopic instruments and very powerful insufflators, which allow maintaining adequate pressure in the abdominal cavity even in patients with a heavy anterior abdominal wall.
• Safety. Israel is taking the necessary measures to prevent complications. Therefore, the treatment here is not only effective, but also safe for the health of a patient with obesity. After the surgery, patients are provided with adequate care and maintenance treatment.
• Medical treatment cost. In Israel, the prices for medical services are lower than in developed western countries. Therefore, patients from the USA who do not have a medical insurance often come here.

Where to seek help from?

To undergo obesity treatment in Israel, you can contact Sheba medical center, Assuta Hospital, Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov), Rambam Medical Center. This country has many good hospitals where doctors perform minimally invasive surgeries that allow you to normalize weight quickly and without health risks.

If you are interested in medical tourism in Israel, please, use the Booking Health service. We cooperate with the best hospitals in this country. On our portal you can get information about hospitals and doctors, compare the cost of medical programs and book one of them at the best price. Booking Health will arrange your trip to Israel. We offer the following services and benefits:

• Selection of the hospital in Israel that specializes in bariatric surgery and achieves the best results in obesity treatment with minimal health risks
• Selection of the most suitable dates for obesity treatment, reduced waiting time for it
• Reduced cost of bariatric surgery in clinics in Israel – price is reduced due to excluding additional coefficients for foreign patients
• Direct communication with a doctor who specializes in bariatric surgery 
• Preparation of a medical program without the need to repeat the previously performed diagnostic tests in the clinics in Israel
• Buying and forwarding medicines 
• Communication with the hospital in Israel after the completion of the medical program
• Organization of additional diagnostics, treatment or rehabilitation in clinics in Israeli at an affordable cost

Booking Health specialists provide high-quality services. We will book a hotel and airline tickets for you, meet you at the airport and take to the hospital by car.