The Canary Islands was one of the first regions in Spain to use laparoscopic techniques in weight-loss or bariatric surgery. Due to this fact, the Canary Islands currently has several excellent medical teams with extensive experience in these techniques for bariatric surgery.
For decades, surgeons have researched incessantly to find the ideal technique to improve the health of morbidly obese patients with comorbidities, their reduced life expectancy and their quality of life; the ideal procedure involving low risks of short and long term complications. The development of weight loss surgery via laparoscopy has reduced the length of surgical procedures, postoperative hospital stay and overall complications and morbidity associated with bariatric surgery.
Nowadays, the majority of European surgeons specialised in Weight Loss Surgery recommend the use of laparoscopic surgery and the procedures most commonly carried out are vertical sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass (as opposed to the adjustable gastric band procedure, owing to the long-term complications observed in patients who have undergone this type of operation). In the Canary Islands, vertical sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass are also the most commonly used techniques for weight loss surgery.
With regard to the specialists in this area, the bariatric teams in the Canary Islands have an excellent reputation and extensive experience in laparoscopic weight loss surgery; well-known surgeons in Spain involved in research and teaching in the field of bariatric surgery.
Hospitales San Roque prides itself on its first-rate surgical team lead by Dr. José Ramírez, Head of General and Digestive Tract Surgery at the hospital San Roque Maspalomas and also Vice-president of the Spanish Society of Obesity Surgery. Dr. Ramírez, who is recognised as one of the two top specialised surgeons in this field in the Canary Islands, stresses the importance of adequate skills and experience in laparoscopic weight loss surgery as it can be complex and require a very high level of skill to be performed safely and correctly. No doubt in the future, however, this technique will be replaced by robotic surgery which is even more precise.
The Department of Obesity Surgery at the Hospital San Roque Maspalomas has become well known due to the number of people seeking outstanding treatment at its reputable centre.
Sources:
Laparoscopic revolution in bariatric surgery – World J Gastroenterol. 2014 November 7; 20(41): 15135-15143.
“Técnica compleja para operar a personas obesas” – Actualidad Hospitales San Roqu