New set of rules for obesity surgery
From 01 January 2021, it will be possible to have obesity surgery from a BMI of 30+ with concomitant type 2 diabetes. One of the prerequisites is that diabetes can no longer be safely controlled by conventional means. Only a few specialist clinics are authorised to perform such operations. This also includes the clinics of Swiss1Chirurgie, which offer such procedures in the Helvetia Holding AG network. Learn more about the BAG’s decision.
Overweight surgery possible from BMI 30 with diabetes as of 2021
Being overweight is not something to be trifled with. All those affected know this just as well as we do as medical specialists. For years, the experts at Swiss1Chirurgie have been observing the development of obesity in modern industrialised countries. It is becoming increasingly clear that the proportion of overweight people is growing. Associated with this are not only the individual restrictions and complaints. Healthy societies quickly become sick societies through an oversupply of food at any time in any place and correspondingly wrong nutritional behaviour, whose lack is above all abundance.
So far, health insurers and medical organisations, together with politicians in Switzerland, have agreed that surgical interventions to reduce weight are only possible for a BMI of 35 or higher and are financed accordingly. It was completely ignored that a BMI of 35 or more is already an enormously high value, which is already associated with numerous secondary diseases and complaints. Such concomitant diseases not only complicate the lives of the patients themselves, but are often also a clear obstacle in the preparation and implementation of necessary obesity surgery.
From 2021 the threshold is BMI 30
In accordance with the interventions of the medical specialists and a close observation of the development, the politicians together with the medical profession have decided to lower the threshold value for bariatric surgery in the context of obesity surgery now to a BMI of 30, provided that the patients are affected by diabetes at the same time.
This long overdue decision will benefit patients who, despite being diagnosed with obesity and the corresponding symptoms, were previously not included in the group of patients for whom obesity surgery was an option.
This means that a wide range of conditions closely related to obesity can be treated much sooner and necessary and desired surgical interventions can also be carried out. This will have a lasting impact on the quality of life of people with a BMI over 30 and diabetes, and ultimately reduce the proportion of severely overweight people, along with the social and economic costs.
Advantages especially for humans
The decisive advantages of this decision now lie above all with those people who, with a BMI of 30 or more and diabetes, are already clearly affected by morbid obesity. Now the suffering of these people can be significantly shortened. This is also because it obviously does not make sense to wait for an enormously high BMI of 35 and more until a surgical intervention for weight reduction is made possible by the regulations.
A major advantage of this decision is that the extent of overweight and the associated concomitant and secondary diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and arthrosis can be significantly reduced. The psychological suffering can also be significantly shortened and patients with a BMI of 30 or more with diabetes may now place themselves in the hands of the experienced specialists in obesity surgery. The Swiss1Chirurgie clinics are among the specialist medical clinics that will be authorised to perform surgical procedures to reduce excess weight from a BMI of 30 with diabetes from 01.01.2021.
Determine your BMI here and find out whether and under what conditions you belong to the circle of possible candidates for obesity surgery.
In addition, we recommend that all severely overweight people contact a Swiss1Chirurgie clinic. By doing so, you will take the first step towards a better, healthier future in 2021 and use the possibilities of modern medicine to improve your life.
Contact Swiss1Chirurgie here.