Bariatric Surgery/Obesity Surgery
Information about the Centre
At Brussels Europe Hospitals we recognised early on the need for a broad and integrated approach to obesity and its related illnesses. Some 15 years ago we were amongst the first to set up a centre specifically dedicated to the treatment of obesity.
World Firsts
- The first three cases of minimally invasive management of oesophageal perforations in the world were performed at Brussels Europe Hospitals and published in Surgical Endoscopy in 2002.
- The first procedure in the world entailing an adapted gastric banding technique for obese patients with giant hiatal hernias was performed at Brussels Europe Hospitals and details published in Obesity Surgery in 2005.
Our hospitals now boast a team of 30 specialists including nutritionists, internists, endocrinologists, clinical psychologists, physiotherapists and dieticians, all working together to tailor treatments to each patient's individual needs. Our guiding principles are:
- To listen to patients in order to offer the most appropriate treatment;
- To respect patients by proposing the least aggressive surgical procedure;
- To monitor patients post-surgery to optimise their chances of maintaining a sustainable rate of weight-loss .
A team of four surgeons with extensive experience in minimally invasive surgery offers a comprehensive range of surgery options. The recent acquisition of a high-performance surgical robot has enabled us to further reduce surgical trauma and enhanced our ability to perform complex procedures more precisely. Renowned for our dedicated and personalised approach, our centre now treats a growing number of patients of whom over 300 undergo surgery each year.
Procedures Performed
Obesity surgery offers two different approaches based on:
- Malabsorption: the purpose is to reduce the time it takes for food to mix with bile and pancreatic juice in order to reduce food resorption by the body.
To do so, these types of surgery require partial gastric resections and the creation of intestinal bypasses. - Restriction: the purpose is to create a small gastric pouch. The expansion of the pouch by small food intakes causes an early feeling of fullness.
- Restriction-malabsorption combination: the purpose is to combine a gastric restriction with an intestinal bypass.
The Procedures
- Biliopancreatic Diversion (also known as the Scopinaro procedure)
The Medical Team
Serge Landen, MD: | Marc Vertruyen, MD, PhD: |
Dr Landen has pioneered several innovative surgery techniques:
- Extensive foregut surgery for caustic burns (performed the first two cases in the western hemisphere while in Rennes in 1993 and at Brussels Europe Hospitals in 1994 and published in the British Journal of Surgery in 1996)
- New technique for pancreatic anastomosis published in Digestive Surgery in 1998
- Single stage surgery in diverticular peritonitis (pilot study published in the British Journal of Surgery in 1998)
- The first three cases of minimally invasive management of oesophageal perforations in the world were performed at Brussels Europe Hospitals and published in Surgical Endoscopy in 2002.
- The first procedure in the world entailing an adapted gastric banding technique for obese patients with giant hiatal hernias was performed at Brussels Europe Hospitals and details published in Obesity Surgery in 2005.
Dr Vertruyen set up the Eurobesity Center: www.eurobesity.be
A specialist team proposes multidisciplinary treatments adapted to each case (nutritional, psychological, endocrinological and surgical approaches).
B. Bomans, MD |
|
K. Van Belle, MD
Contact Details
Bariatric Surgery Department
Brussels Europe Hospitals
Brussels
