Reducing weight and wait lists for osteoarthritis patients

Professor Wendy Brown consulting with a patient

A team of Melbourne researchers has discovered the significant positive impact of weight loss surgery for patients with obesity in delaying, and in some cases removing, the need for total knee joint replacement. Their study has been published in the prestigious journal JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association.

It is the first randomised trial of its kind in the world, funded by the NHMRC and led by Professor Peter Choong and Professor Michelle Dowsey from University of Melbourne / St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, in collaboration with Monash University’s Professor Wendy Brown and Dr Paul Burton, assessed the efficacy of substantial weight loss induced by bariatric surgery in reducing complication risk after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in patients with severe obesity and osteoarthritis.

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Landmark study highlights long-term success of weight loss surgery

Gastric banding. Image: Paul O'Brien
video describing lap banding procedure.
Hear Wendy Brown's 3AW interview

A 20-year study by Monash University researchers has demonstrated that lap-band surgery provides substantial weight loss to obese people for at least 20 years.

Obesity is estimated to affect more than a quarter of Australian adults and has now overtaken smoking as the leading cause of preventable deaths.

The study by Monash’s Centre for Obesity Research and Education (CORE) and the Centre for Bariatric Surgery (CBS), demonstrated that patients who had lap-band surgery 20 years ago now weigh an average of 30.1kg less than their initial weight. Lap-band (laparoscopic adjustable gastric band) surgery places an adjustable band around the top of the stomach to reduce appetite.

Lap Band study shows positive outcomes for diabetes patients

Prof Wendy Brown and her team perform
a gastric banding procedure

by Anne Crawford

A Monash University study on the effect of bariatric surgery on obese people with type 2 diabetes has showed that most patients experienced sustained weight loss with nearly a fifth in remission from the disease. Moreover, many patients reported improved quality of life. Obesity is a key risk factor for diabetes.

Study highlights best use of innovative gastrointestinal device

Dr Geraldine Ooi, first author on
the EndoVAC study

by Anne Crawford

Gastric and oesophageal perforations and leaks can be very difficult to treat, particularly if   contamination and sepsis have set in, and can be fatal. Central Clinical School PhD student Dr Geraldine Ooi joined researchers in The Alfred Hospital’s Upper Gastrointestinal Surgical Unit to review a recent innovation used to treat the internal leaks. The results of their study have helped inform The Alfred Hospital’s approach to using the therapy and will potentially help clinicians elsewhere.

Ethics process for weight loss surgery data needs slimming

by Anne Crawford

Ethics process for weight loss surgery data needs overhaul, say Monash researchers.

Monash scientists and clinicians setting up an Australia-wide clinical quality registry for bariatric surgery have called for a more streamlined national ethics review process to oversee data collection and retention.

Program transforms pre-surgery weight loss care

by Anne Crawford

An educational program developed by Monash University and Alfred Hospital researchers to better prepare patients for bariatric (weight loss) surgery is revolutionising their care, streamlining its delivery and leading to improved weight loss after surgery.

The program was based on a study overseen by Professor Wendy Brown, director of the Centre for Obesity Research and Education (CORE), and Associate Professor Peter Nottle, director of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery at the Alfred Hospital.

Media mention: "Well worth the weight" on outcomes of high volume bariatric surgery in the public system

Bariatric surgery has not been widely used in the Australian public health system. As obesity is strongly associated with socio-economic status, excluding its use from the public system will deny many of the most in-need access to a potentially very effective treatment. Alternatively, with rigorous follow-up and behavioural change requirements, highly successful outcomes in the private system may not translate to the public system. Patients were older, heavier and suffered more co-morbid disease than previously reported cohorts. This article by Monash-Alfred researchers concluded however that for the first time, excellent outcomes across a range of key quality domains in a large patient cohort have been reported in the public system. High-volume bariatric surgery in the public system is viable.

Reference: Burton P, Brown W, Chen R, Shaw K, Packiyanathan A, Bringmann I, Smith A, Nottle P. Outcomes of high-volume bariatric surgery in the public system. NZ J Surg. 2015 Oct 16. doi: 10.1111/ans.13320. [Epub ahead of print]