London, UK: Like in all the developed countries, obesity is a major health problem in the United Kingdom. The weight loss surgeries such as bariatric surgery, liposuction etc are increasing gaining in popularity, as more and more people in UK preferring them over conventional weight loss methods.

The cost of weight loss procedures such as gastric bands is higher in UK when compared to the other countries such as Syria, India, and other Asian countries. In addition, many of the weight loss procedures are not available under NHS or have big waiting times.

The private practices in UK are charging somewhere around £7000 for gastric band surgery. The same surgery costs about £2000 or even lesser in the countries like India, and other Asian countries that are known for “medical tourism”. This is the reason why people travel to other countries for the weight loss surgeries.

The women who are travelling abroad for weigh loss surgeries are returning to UK with many health complications. They are thinking only about the procedure and cost, but not the post treatment care or the complications that follow a gastric band surgery.

Top surgeons in UK are warning against this increasing trend of going abroad for weight loss surgeries. They believe the people are not getting quality treatment and care, and most importantly, a quality post treatment care, which is the reason why the patients are developing complications once they return to UK.

“Post-operative care [for operations performed abroad] is often patchy or non-existent, which increases the risk of complications. There are some procedures performed in parts of Europe that are no longer performed in the UK – for example, vertical banded gastroplasty,” said Simon Monkhouse, a surgical registrar.