TURNING LIVES AROUND

Although weight loss surgery in New Zealand is publicly funded for a limited number of people who meet the criteria, Paulette and Maree paid for their own procedures – generally around $20,000 for a sleeve, a little more for a bypass. Both had high BMIs (body mass index) that categorised them as severely obese. Maree used the ACC payout she got for the loss of her arm, while Paulette saved for years and had help from a family member. Top-rating TVNZ documentary series The Big Ward follows other New Zealanders whose obesity is at the more extreme end of the scale. But what if you’re not as seriously overweight? Is surgery still an option? Auckland surgeon Stephanie Ulmer doesn’t advocate it for anyone who has a BMI below 30 because the potential risks outweigh the benefits. But she will take patients in the BMI 30-35 range, despite it being controversial. “From a purely medical perspective it’s not going to prolong life, not going to make them less likely to get things like type 2 diabetes,” she says. “But there are plenty of other reasons besides the medical ones. Avoiding the agony of perpetual dieting would be one. People have been on diets for 30-odd years. They know they can lose the weight but they can’t keep it off. They want what’s going to help them look good, feel good and have more self-confidence.” Taking away 80 per cent of their stomach isn’t a magic bullet. “It’s a kick-start in the right direction. It gives them a control they haven’t had before. People wake up and all of a sudden eating is just something they do three times a day as opposed to the obsession with food.” However, when the hunger hormones return to normal they have to think about things like healthy eating, stopping when full and not snacking, just like anyone else. “The ones who were over-eating healthy foods will generally do better than those who were eating a lot of junk foods,” says Stephanie. She agrees that we could be doing more to provide psychological support – none at all is provided for patients who get publically funded surgery – but says that weight loss surgery in this country has come a long way in a relatively short time. “Five years ago it was very negatively thought of. GPs didn’t advocate it. Now it would be unusual to find a GP who is anti bariatric surgery. It’s becoming more popular. Everyone knows someone who’s had it.” Performing around 200 surgeries a year, and seeing the impact they can have, Stephanie says hers is very rewarding work. “You turn people’s lives around.”