A new treatment for obesity, also available in Romania: the installation of an elastic band around the stomach

Romanians who suffer from morbid obesity and want to get rid of extra pounds have access to the country to a new surgical procedure, more efficient than classic bariatric surgery. The intervention involves the installation of an elastic band around the stomach, which limits the amount of ingested food and which, in the long run, prevents weight gain. In Romania, this type of intervention is carried out only in Bucharest by a medical team led by Victor Diaconu, a specialist in bariatric surgery. So far, three such operations have been successfully carried out, and patients receiving the new type of treatment suffered from morbid obesity. Unlike classic bariatric surgery that only involves a reduction in stomach volume, gastric bandage prevents it from spreading, which in turn induces the feeling of satiety. According to US statistics, five years after the surgery, only 3% of patients started to gain weight, compared with 17% in those who did not have such a medical device.

Compared to the gastric ring, which can cause stomach lesions, the elastic band wraps wide and enters action only when the stomach begins to dilate. The new type of surgery is for patients with high obesity or those who suffer from type II diabetes. Patients who have undergone other bariatric surgery have been eligible, but because they have not followed the prescriptions of physicians, they have started to gain weight. With 55% of the overweight population, Romania is below the Eastern European average, but the incidence of obesity is rising rapidly, 14% higher than in 1990, according to a Nielsen CEE study conducted in 2017. According to statistics, 58% of Europeans are overweight, but less than half of them are actively trying to lose weight.

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