Highlights from BOMSS 2019



BOMSS 2019 Update

The British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS) held its 2019 10th annual conference on 24th and 25th January. This event brought together dieticians, nurses, researchers, psychologists, physicians, GPs, surgeons and patients to discuss obesity and its most effective treatment i.e. bariatric surgery.

There were excellent updates about the status of bariatric surgery in the UK, bariatric research and the health of our society-BOMSS. Some interesting debates and discussions were held including sessions about bariatric anaesthesia, choice of bariatric operations and importance of research for bariatric surgery. In addition, excellent research was presented as oral or poster presentations.

To move some of the discussions further and disseminate some highlights from the conference, #obsmuk is holding a tweet chat on Wednesday 30th January at 8pm GMT.

We aim to discuss the following topics.

1.      BOMSS set an objective of increasing the number of bariatric surgery operations in the UK to 20,000 operations a year. Is this achievable? What are the barriers?

2.      One potential barrier to access to bariatric surgery is lack of knowledge about obesity and bariatric surgery among the public in general and healthcare professionals in particular. This lack of education has led to significant weight bias and reduction in access to bariatric surgery. What can be done? Who should education be targeted to? How can we combat the weight bias and the stigma surrounding bariatric surgery as a treatment for obesity among the public and HCPs? How can we better educate healthcare professionals on obesity and weight loss?

3.      Is there a perfect bariatric operation that should be offered to every patient? Should we think only about outcomes or should we consider risks and acceptability? Do we still need trials like by-band-sleeve?

4.      Alcohol and bariatric surgery: What are the recommendations regarding alcohol intake pre and post-op? What are the risks regarding alcohol addiction post bariatric surgery?

5.      The National Bariatric Surgery Registry (NBSR): A plea to improve data entry!


We look forward to an interesting discussion!

The #obsmuk leaders

Abd Tahrani, Alex Blakemore, Cynthia Borg, Denise Ratcliffe, Gillian Galway, Jacqueline Joyce, Ken Clare, Mary O'Kane, Olivia Szepietowski, Stephanie DiGiorgio and  Zaher Toumi

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