Lanka Hospitals becomes 1st private hospital in SL to complete 50 bariatric weight loss surgeries

Lanka Hospitals, the internationally accredited multiple award-winning healthcare provider reached another milestone recently by becoming the first private hospital in Sri Lanka to successfully complete 50 bariatric weight loss surgeries. The weight loss surgical procedure is carried out as a key-hole surgery or as an enhanced recovery (ERAS) protocol operation, which allows a patient to be discharged after the surgery within 48 hours and thereafter to lose weight over a period of time. 

The bariatric weight loss surgery has not only been successful in ensuring significant weight loss in obese patients but has also successfully cured patients of multiple illnesses such as uncontrolled diabetes, obstructive sleep apnoea, uncontrolled hypertension and subfertility.

“Bariatric weight loss surgery has been in existence for many decades, but it is still a relatively novel concept in Sri Lanka. In the past most obesity surgeries were conducted as open surgeries, but with Lanka Hospitals’ new advances in technology, surgical anaesthetics, post-operative care and pain management it has now become possible to offer minimally invasive surgical procedures for weight loss with minimum scarring within a much faster recovery time,” Lanka Hospitals Group Chief Executive Officer Dr. Prasad Medawatte stated. 

“We have reached the pinnacle of our journey in bariatric surgery by becoming the first private hospital to complete 50 bariatric weight loss surgeries. Over the last five years we have developed the technology required to conduct bariatric weight loss surgery. Apart from the technological advances that the hospital has developed to perform, investigate and even manage very rare complications, there is a multi-disciplinary team of experts, a trained operating theatre, ICU and ward staff who are vastly experienced in conducting bariatric weight loss surgeries,” Lead Surgeon of the Bariatric and Metabolic Surgical Team, Dr. Thejana Wijeratne stated. “Over the last several years we have witnessed patients who have been successful in overcoming obesity through bariatric weight loss surgery and who have successfully maintained a healthy, balanced diet following the surgery. As such we see that the surgeries not only have reduced their weight but have improved their health and enhanced their lifestyles to a life-changing extent,” Clinical Nutritionist Specialised in Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Dr. Ranil Jayawardena stated.

Lanka Hospitals is the first hospital in Sri Lanka to be awarded some of the most prestigious accreditations in the world for its healthcare service standards including the Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation since 2014, and currently holds the world respected Medical Tourism Certification from the Medical Travel Quality Alliance (MTQUA). Furthermore, Lanka Hospitals Diagnostics (LHD) is the only Sri Lankan laboratory to be accredited by the prestigious laboratory accreditation body, The College of American Pathologists (CAP).