Final reflections: wellness after obesity surgery

The articles presented in this symposium on treatment of clinically severe obesity cover most of the topics related to obesity surgery, from basic research about genetic causes of obesity to surgical techniques and clinical results on the severely obese patient. The most striking feature of those results observed after bariatric surgery for the clinically severe obese is not the remarkable weight loss and normalization of the body mass index but the amelioration of some of the metabolic and physiologic abnormalities related to obesity. In fact, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism show improvement, as do cardiac and pulmonary function. These observations justify all efforts devoted to the design and improvement of sound bariatric surgical techniques. Moreover, surgeons seek the well-being of the ex-obese patient, and in doing so they face special discriminatory attitudes from colleges, patients' families, and the society, mainly because of negative stereotypes related to the obese individuals and the lack of information on the real benefits of bariatric procedures. Bariatric surgeons will reach their goal only when an informed society, educated physicians, and properly oriented obese patients together give to bariatric surgery its real dimension. The objective of any surgeon is the wellness of his or her patient. This is important in bariatric surgery as well; beyond excess weight loss and normalization of biochemical parameters, the ex-obese patient should be able to live a normal, productive, happy life. Approaching this goal is a task that takes months or even years. Bariatric surgeons are committed to support and help their patients until they reach wellness after obesity surgery.