Teen bariatric surgery outcomes
Weight loss with Teen Time Bariatrics
If you are currently exploring weight loss surgery and you are under 18, chances are that you want to look into the scientific data and the statistics. Experts agree that the weight loss after obesity surgery is dramatic. We expect you to lose about 35 to 40% of your total weight in the two years after your surgery. What we also measure and know, is that the BMI of a young person undergoing the surgery drops under 30. All this means that the patients we have helped with the program in Perth, see their excess weight reduced by up to 90%.
Those are the general statistics. Every situation is different, and you will want to know how much weight you will lose, should you plan to enter the Teen Time Bariatrics program.
It will depend on:
- Your starting weight and your BMI before you have surgery
- The dimensions of the stomach tube we create (gastric sleeve)
- How well you engage with the lifestyle changes we introduce as part of the program. This is about your eating behaviour and the amount of exercise you manage to achieve.
- How well you participate in our follow-up sessions.
Your program with Teen Time Bariatrics will be fully customised for your age. The good news is that the success rates and the expected outcomes are in line with our general average outcomes with adult patients. Teen Time Bariatrics is a program run by Mercy Bariatrics, a qualified weight loss clinic in Perth, in cooperation with Adelaide Bariatric Centre.
Teen bariatric surgery outcomes and co-morbidities
Getting rid of other health problems
When you do your research about finding the best solution for weight loss surgery in Perth, you will most likely focus on just that: losing kilos. But when you speak to your doctor, you may hear the term ‘co-morbidities: other health conditions linked to being obese.
It’s good to know that most co-morbidities associated with obesity will improve or disappear:
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Sleep apnoea (within 3-6 months after surgery we see patients discontinue the use of CPAP machines)
- Asthma
- Painful joints
- Fertility (we recommend not falling pregnant within 12 months after surgery)
- Poor Libido
- Psoriasis
- Depression and social anxiety (sometimes we will recommend working with a psychologist to make sure you make the most of it and really start feeling better about your body, your confidence and your self-worth)
As weight loss specialists we track our data here in Perth and we follow the latest international research in this area. What this tells us is that there is strong evidence, that obesity surgery extends life. That is when you compare it to the best possible conservative management.
The conditions that we list here all cause damage to your body. So it makes sense to try and improve your overall health earlier in life. That is why we have created a program for young people: early intervention, as we call it, means that you stop the process sooner. At some point, and without proper treatment, it becomes harder to reverse the effects of these conditions or diseases.
Teen bariatric surgery and future lifestyle
Feeling better - doing new things
We know that weight should not define how you feel about yourself. But in reality, we see that for many teenagers, their confidence grows as their waistline shrinks. We carefully listen to what our young patients tell us after they had weight loss surgery. The comments we pick up are about feeling better, fitting in better with friends and peers, and being ready to try new activities.
Maybe until now, your weight prevents you from participating in some activities you like. It might be too hard, or you just feel uncomfortable. What we see in our youngest patients is a big shift: new activities and new adventures await. We see that weight no longer holds them back.
To be honest: here at Teen Time Bariatrics, that’s exactly what inspires us. We love hearing the stories, and hearing about the impact our program has on people’s lives.
But maybe you’re not sure. You may have lots of questions and be unsure about what to expect. It’s a good starting point to just have a chat with one of our friendly team members so you can ask about the typical outcomes and the road to get there. We can’t publish all those stories here because of confidentiality and regulations but our team will happily share some of the stories with you.
Life gets easier without excess weight
And this is the part where it’s not about medical science – it’s about your daily life.
We hear that teenagers who lost weight notice amazing changes in their lives:
- Shopping for clothes:
There is more choice now, it becomes easier and they feel more in tune with the others. So all of a sudden, they can go shopping with a friend without feeling bad about sizes and weight. - Travel:
Sitting comfortably on a bus or in an airline seat. Weight loss treatment changes the experience, as some of our patients tell us afterwards. - Walking up a hill:
Walking to school is an option now! Some teenagers would never have thought about walking a short distance and now it becomes part of a new routine. - Your ‘Success Habits’ help you maintain a better weight and BMI and your desire for food stops taking control.
- And then we haven’t even mentioned the stories about going to the Perth beaches, fitting into a wetsuit, or crazy stuff such as climbing a tree.
What would happen if you created your own list of things that could be different? That is why we call it a program: we help you keep in mind that you are working on a big shift, a change that will change your quality of life for the long run.
Weight loss with Teen Time bariatrics