A TEAM of doctors at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) has successfully performed the country’s first-ever laparoscopic bariatric surgery on a 32-year-old man.

Teekah Singh underwent the groundbreaking weight loss procedure about six weeks ago and is doing well.
Singh said that when he went to the hospital in 2021, he agreed to go ahead with the surgery after the procedure was explained to him by Laparoscopic Surgery Consultant, Dr Hemraj Ramcharran.

“He said they will put me on a diet first to see if I will lose weight and if I don’t lose weight, I am going to do the surgery,” Singh shared.
He said that he saw nutritionists, psychologists and many other doctors before the surgery. He was placed on a diet but it was not helpful as his weight would often fluctuate.

Singh said that a week before the surgery, he was put on liquids only and then for five weeks after the surgery.

He related that about a week ago, he started having two slices of bread in the mornings and afternoons. After sharing that he is doing well, Singh commended Dr. Ramcharran and his team for their efforts and the great work done.

Singh’s body mass index (BMI) before surgery was 51.9. It was explained by Dr. Ramcharran that a person with a high BMI such as one over 40 may be termed as severely obese and in need of the surgery. After receiving surgery, Singh’s BMI saw a significant decrease as four weeks post-surgery, his BMI was 44.8.

Dr. Ramcharran said that the surgery is for persons who are obese or severely obese.
“So, persons who have a high body mass index, that simply means that their weight is in excess to their height,” he said.

Bariatric surgery can be done laparoscopically or open, he said while noting that laparoscopic means making five small incisions, putting the camera in, putting the instruments in and then the surgery is carried out through the small incisions.

While the surgery was done openly before, this is the first laparoscopic surgery to be done at GPHC and in Guyana.

“With bariatric surgery, the patient is expected to lose half of their body weight at six months and three quarters of their body weight in one year and they are usually able to keep this weight off once they follow the guidelines and the diet,” he added.

He said the bariatric surgery is a team work procedure as it involves the surgeons, nutritionist, physiologist, internal medicine specialist, endocrinologist, anesthetist and the cardiologist.
Dr. Ramcharran stated that because the surgery was the first of its kind, it required lots of last-minute decisions and equipment.

It was encouraged that all medical professionals around Guyana refer patients to the surgical weight loss clinic where persons may benefit from such a procedure.

Meanwhile Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GPHC, Robbie Rambarran, said he is proud of the team. He added that the sum of $300M will be used to purchase medical equipment to build capacity along with lots of laparoscopic instruments.