Surgery is not the first treatment you should consider for weight loss. On the other hand, you should not wait until you develop complications from obesity. If you have tried to lose weight on your own without success, please make an appointment to see us.

If you have back and joint pains, get out of breath easily, sweat profusely and get tired out after a short walk, your excess weight may be hindering you. Losing weight can restore your energy and vigour.

A number of chronic medical conditions are closely related to our diet, lifestyle and body weight. The most important is diabetes mellitus. Other diseases related to excess body fat are the metabolic syndrome, hypertension, fatty liver, cholesterol problems, polycystic ovarian syndrome in women and even cancer.

This is a critical stage that many people want to avoid because insulin therapy, although very powerful in controlling blood sugar levels, can also lead to further weight gain. We can help you to lose weight and dramatically improve your diabetic condition.

Dr Shanker has successfully helped numerous obese patients with cardiovascular disease, asthma, liver cirrhosis, kidney failure and transplant with weight loss treatment. Please make an appointment to see us.

Obesity and metabolic surgery helps obese individuals to lose weight and therefore improves weight-related conditions, both medical and physical. The greater the weight loss, the greater the benefit.

Your body mass index (BMI) should be higher than 27kg/m2 if you are considering any intervantions with us.

Liposuction and tummy tuck are body shaping procedures, used to improve your body contours. There is no significant long-term weight loss or health benefit from liposuction or tummy tuck. Therefore liposuction and tummy tuck are cosmetic treatments.

No, obesity and metabolic surgery are medical interventions according to the Singapore Obesity Clinical Practice Guidelines, provided your body mass index is above the minimum criteria according to your health indicators. You should have a complete medical evaluation to determine your health status before starting weight-loss treatment.

We will provide you a letter listing your medical conditions to submit to your insurance company for consideration. Usually approval is granted on a case-by-case basis.

A gastroscopy is usually carried out to ensure that you do not have any stomach ulcers or acid reflux. You will be placed on a low-calorie diet 1-2 weeks prior to surgery and advised simple exercises in order to reduce your liver size and improve your heart and lungs. You will be reviewed by an anaesthetist to assess whether you are fit for surgery. If you have co-existing medical conditions, additional tests may be necessary.

Other than gastric sleeve, the other procedures are reversible.

Keyhole surgery is much less painful compared to traditional large incisions. 

No. You will only have small keyholes in your tummy.

Most people will go home after 2 days. We recommend that you take at least 2 weeks rest before going back to full-time work.

Dr Shanker has an excellent safety record with a 99% success rate.

We will design a personalized after-care program for you to ensure the success of your treatment. How much weight you lose is dependent on how you eat and how active you are (on average 20-30% of your initial weight). If you are motivated and follow an active lifestyle, you can lose up to 50% of your body weight.

You will be reviewed by the team at 1 week, 1 month, then 3 monthly for the first year and annually thereafter.

Surgery is a tool to help you control your food intake. Once you have fully recovered, you may eat a small appetiser portion or about one-third to half of a normal main course portion in a restaurant. You should pay a great deal of attention to your diet; eat more protein, fresh fruit and vegetables and avoid processed or simple carbohydrate-rich foods.

Sometimes it may be necessary to take nutritional supplements to avoid vitamin, iron and calcium deficiencies. You must engage in regular exercise to maintain your muscle and bone strength and enhance fat loss. You should avoid smoking, excessive alcohol intake, and sedentary behaviour.