Central Coast Weight Loss Surgery

21/07/2023

Honoured to be involved in education and exchange of cutting edge ideas for improvements in weight loss surgery

04/07/2023

In an environment where the price of everything is going up, it was very pleasing to receive this letter recently from Gosford Private Hospital. They have actually REDUCED the hospital fees for uninsured patients undergoing gastric sleeve surgery.

We have done thousands of operations (bariatric and non-bariatric) at Gosford Private Hospital since 2009 and still find this to be the most equipped hospital on the Coast as it is the only hospital with an intensive care unit, 24 hour on call anaesthestist and operating theatre services. It is the hospital with the highest volume of bariatric surgery on the Coast and where we introduced sleeve and bypass surgery. Surgery is not just about what happens during the operation but also what happens afterwards and hence the overall experience of the hospital is priceless.

Whilst 95% of our gastric sleeve patients usually stay just one night in hospital, it is reassuring to know that we are in a hospital that has all the capabilities to provide extra care to the small number that may need extra services. Great value for a great price for peace of mind.

16/05/2023

Eat slowly and mindfully. The magic number is 20. “For those who’ve had bariatric surgery, we use the 20:20:20:20 rule: a 20 cent-sized piece of food, chew it 20 times, put your knife and fork down for 20 seconds between mouthfuls, and take 20 minutes to eat the meal.

The fast pace of modern life can make it hard to take our time over a meal, but studies suggest a number of health benefits.

24/04/2023

Be careful of over dosing on vitamin B6. Can cause damage to nerves. B6 is found in many supermarket multivitamins, energy drinks, protein bars and many things that claim to "boost" energy. Perhaps consider staying with specific bariatric vitamins which have a lower dose of B6.

The active 86-year-old was independent until last year when Alison noticed the strength in her father's legs declining. He was unknowingly consuming about 70 times the recommended daily intake of a vitamin for a man his age.

23/03/2023

Just wanted to share some data from Medicare. This graph shows all weight loss surgeries performed in private hospitals in NSW in 2022. Gastric sleeve remains by far the most commonly done procedure. Dr Wong and our clinic performed over 400 gastric sleeve cases in 2022, meaning we were privileged and honoured to have looked after approximately 7 percent of all patients undergoing gastric sleeve surgery in NSW in 2022. Thank you for your support and trust.

09/03/2023

Today was a particularly satisfying day. A young man in his 30s had travelled from Perth, Western Australia for us to perform gastric sleeve surgery. The airline had asked him to purchase three seats. He had been rejected by various surgeons in his home state as he was 260kg. BMI 80. He worked particularly hard to lose 30kg on his preop diet over a few months and we were very pleased to be able to successfully operate on him at 230kg. These are always stressful events as we can never be sure that we can successfully complete surgery. It would be beyond heartbreaking for someone to travel from Perth to Gosford and wake up without the desired operation. We were very pleased to give his anxiously waiting parents the good news of a successful operation after 45 minutes. Doing it with just three incisions was the icing on the cake. Hopefully his ongoing journey will be equally successful. Fingers crossed

22/12/2022

We were super excited with the latest report from the Australian bariatric surgery registry which collects data for all patients undergoing surgery around Australia.

This report also provided data specifically for patients from our clinic.

The column on the left (lighter blue) shows that patients from our clinic, at one year after surgery, had a 78% excess weight lost (EWL) and 30% of total weight lost (TWL). This is well above the national averages for all other patients undergoing surgery in Australia, 72% EWL and 28% TWL - darker blue column on the right.

This data shows that our patients have done significantly better in terms of weight loss, than others undergoing surgery in Australia.

We are very proud of this result that our patients have achieved.

Well done to all our patients and best wishes for Xmas and 2023.

As always, we greatly appreciate your support and feel honoured to be a part of your journey.

Dr Ken Wong and team

06/11/2022

The latest data from the Australian Bariatric Registry which presents long term outcomes from bariatric surgery. Two take home messages.

1. Weight loss from sleeve and bypass are almost identical at 3 years.

2. Bypass surgery has 5 times higher risks and need for further operations than gastric sleeve

26/06/2022

Thoughts on Ozempic?

Some information from recent clinical studies

Demand for the injectable Ozempic has soared recently due to a large randomised trial (STEP 1), published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), which found once-weekly Ozempic 2.4 mg was associated with an average weight reduction of 15% at 18 months, compared with 2.4% with placebo in people with overweight or obesity.

However, access issues have quickly arisen. In Australia, where Ozempic is approved for the treatment of type-2 diabetes, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) warned in May that off-label prescribing of the drug to people with obesity had caused a supply shortage. Doctors were told to limit prescribing of Ozempic to its approved use in diabetics.

Ozempic is associated with much greater average weight loss compared with placebo than the medications currently registered for obesity in Australia – (Duromine; iNova), (Contrave; Currax), (Saxenda; Novo Nordisk) and orlistat. Saxenda, the only GLP-1 agonist registered for obesity, costs three times as much as Ozempic ($387) and has the inconvenience of being taken daily rather than weekly

18/06/2022

Delighted to be sharing with surgeons and anaesthetists around Australia about what we do differently in our practice to enhance patient recovery after gastric sleeve surgery.

Specifically we discuss:

1. Three incision laparoscopic surgery. TILS surgery - less cuts, less pain, better recovery, less complications

2. Short hospital stay - most of our sleeve patents stay in hospital under 24 hours- less than the national average for sleeve operations

3. Our innovative post op nausea and vomiting control protocol which has now been widely adopted

26/05/2022

Great respect for the journey and the effort for better health

03/05/2022

Please let me know what you think about our latest article on weight loss surgery in the Great Health Guide. Appreciate your time in reading and your comments.


https://issuu.com/great_health_guide/docs/great_health_guide_may-june_2022/28

Featuring... ** Anxiety in High Achievers ** ** Develop Your Self-care Plan ** ** Lifting Mood with Movement ** ** Running in Pregnancy Pt 1 ** ** The Power of Words ** + much more....

26/04/2022

Breasts , Bums, Bariatrics

Super excited to announce that Dr. Mifanwy Reece is joining our clinic. She is a specialist colorectal surgeon (Bum surgeon, in plain speech) who will be looking after haemorrhoids, a**l bleeds, colonoscopy, bowel cancers, a**l pains and gallbladder removals. She will look after patients at Gosford Private Hospital. For appointments, please ring 4393 6535

Dr Reece joins the eminent Dr Mary Ling - Specialist Breast Surgeon and Dr Ken Wong (weight loss specialist) to look after everything to do with Breasts, Bums and Bariatrics ( BBB !)

31/01/2022

Hello everyone

Surgery is resuming again on 8th February.

We are trying to be in contact with our valued patients to organise a new Surgery date.

We appreciate your patience as we attempt this rescheduling process.

Please email us on [email protected] if we can be of assistance as our phones can often be engaged.

See you soon.

Dr Ken Wong and team

07/01/2022

We have just emailed all our patients that have been scheduled for bariatric surgery in January 2022 and moved them to tentative dates in March. This is just to give everyone a date to work towards. If covid and the government allows us to resume sooner, we can certainly bring people forward.

We advise our patients to take a break from their preop diets and then resume closer to the new date. We are sorry that they have put in all the hard work and this has now happened.

Other types of surgery such as gallbladders, hernias and day cases such as colonoscopies and gastroscopies are still permitted to proceed so we will not be totally idle.

Appointments and consultations with Dr Wong and dietitians are still continuing as usual.

Please let us know if we can provide any clarification. Stay safe and hope to see you soon.

Dr Ken Wong and team

07/01/2022

As expected, bariatric and other elective surgery has been cancelled by the government as of Monday 10th January 2022.

It is uncertain when surgery can resume. It is all dependent on the Covid situation.

We are very disappointed for all our affected patients especially those who have started their preop preparation.

We will be contacting all of you in due course to reschedule dates.

We ask for your patience in this matter.

Keep well and stay safe.

Dr Ken Wong and team

06/01/2022

Not looking good. Stay tuned...

03/01/2022

Covid update - Covid testing, positive Covid test results and elective surgery

Firstly, happy new year. Hope everyone is enjoying fun and safe holidays.

We have received a few enquiries regarding Covid testing before elective surgery and a few from patients who are booked for surgery in the upcoming weeks but have tested positive for Covid recently.

We thought we would share a few recommendations about these situations as it is increasingly relevant for all who are booked for elective surgery in Australia which has very high Covid case numbers.

Generally, the aim is to avoid operating on patients who are Covid positive at the time of surgery. There is extensive research data showing that this leads to much higher risks of lung complications, clots and deaths after surgery.

Bariatric surgery, like any other elective surgery, should only be performed when the patient is in best possible health to minimise complications and maximise results.

1. Covid testing before surgery.

There are no clear guidelines for this and different surgeons and hospitals will have different protocols ranging from no testing to a series of rapid antigen tests.

We would recommend at least one rapid antigen test (RAT) within 24 hours prior to surgery.

RATs are available in most supermarkets and major chemists. Supply should be improved in the coming weeks.

2. What happens if I am booked for surgery and have tested Covid positive on RAT or PCR?

Current guidelines suggest that surgery should be deferred for at least 8 weeks after positive tests.

This is especially the case if you have had symptoms. Patients should be at least symptom free for eight weeks before undergoing elective surgery.

We understand the significant inconvenience when having to defer surgery as most patients have planned work and family committments around surgery date. However, if serious complications do arise, this would be even worse. Therefore, please let us know if you are experiencing Covid symptoms or have positive Covid tests so that we can defer surgery.

Please be in touch if we can provide any further clarification.

Dr Ken Wong and team

23/12/2021

Happy Holidays!

As 2021 comes to a close, we would like to thank everyone for their support during this trying year.

Against the background of the pandemic , - QR codes, covid tests, - we were very grateful to be able to continue providing our core services - gastric sleeves, bypass, gastric band removals to over 500 patients this year.

We greatly appreciate all your personal referrals and feel humbled to be trusted to look after friends and relatives.

TILS (three incision laparoscopic sleeve) surgery has been performed for close to 90 percent of our gastric sleeves. Less scarring and better recoveries.

This year, we have moved predominantly to telehealth services - video and phone calls - for everyone's safety and convenience.

We wish everyone a safe and merry Xmas and New Year.

Our offices reopen on Tuesday 4th January and we look forward to seeing everyone then.

Dr Ken Wong and team.

19/08/2021

UPDATE. Great news. We are back on for next week! See you all next week.

The government has changed its mind again.

Stay safe.

Ken Wong and team

18/08/2021

UPDATE: Just five minutes ago, we have just been advised that due to the worsening Covid situation, all elective surgery is to stop on Monday 23rd August.

The government has not advised us as to when surgery will be able to resume.

We will be trying very hard to contact all our valued patients in the coming days to reschedule their surgery.

We ask for your patience and understanding in these difficult times.

We will keep you updated as soon as we hear of any new developments.

Dr Ken Wong and team

30/07/2021

Business as usual for now. Fingers crossed.

12/07/2021

Latest data from the National bariatric surgery registry for which many of you contribute data. Pleased to note that weight loss after sleeve and bypass are almost identical. This clears up a common misconception that bypass produces better weight loss. Ultimately, it's about the person and not the surgery.

07/07/2021

Timing of covid vaccines and gastric sleeve surgery

We are often asked about the timing of Covid vaccines in relationship to the timing of gastric sleeve and bypass surgery.

Generally, we have advised avoiding Covid vaccines two weeks before surgery. This is to avoid having reactions to the vaccine at the same time of surgery. Secondly, the vaccine may affect recovery from surgery.

We have also advised our patients to avoid Covid vaccines for at least two , preferably three weeks AFTER surgery so as to allow full recovery from surgery. After this time, it appears safe to have Covid vaccines and there is no increased risk because of the surgery.

In patients with a previous clotting history, we would recommend taking a prolonged course of blood thinning agents after surgery.

26/06/2021

Update. This seems like a re-run of last year but today, we have received some information from our hospital managers as follows.

As advised by NSW Health this afternoon, Greater Sydney, Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour will enter 14 days of lock down at 6pm today 26 June until 9 July.


For our hospitals on the Central Coast the following additional restrictions apply:

· No visitors unless for essential reasons (end of life etc.)

· No children visitors under 16 years. No siblings to maternity units. One support person for maternity patients.

· Face masks continue to be mandatory for all staff, VMOs, third parties, students, volunteers. Patients must wear masks outside of their rooms.

· Staff and VMOs can travel from/around these areas for essential work reasons.

· There has been no directions at this time to restrict elective surgery.

This is obviously a rapidly evolving situation and we will be posting more updates here as they arise.

Stay safe everyone.

Dr Ken Wong and team

28/05/2021

When less is best.

Less cuts means less scarring, less infections, less pain, less time to recover.

TILS surgery. Two or three incision laparoscopic surgery by Dr Ken Wong.

23/05/2021

I had surgery; I don’t give a f**k what anyone has to say,” she explained.

“I did it, I’m proud of it, they can suck sh*t. I did the gastric sleeve. All it does is change the shape of your stomach. I got that almost two years ago. I will never ever ever lie about it ever. It is the best thing I have ever done.”

She continued: “I want to be very clear about this kind of surgery I had. I didn’t have a gastric bypass.

“The kind of surgery I had … if you don’t work out and you don’t eat right, you gain weight. All it does is move you in the right direction,” she said.

https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/celebrity-photos/kelly-osbourne-looks-like-another-person-in-latest-postweightloss-instagram-photo/news-story/1c4f99b9392bef7408d7629e7c6f9bcc

She’s been in the public eye for almost two decades now – but even some of Kelly Osbourne’s most devoted fans confessed they couldn’t recognise her in her latest Instagram photo.

14/05/2021

Why are wounds important? At our clinic, we offer three incision laparoscopic sleeve surgery (TILS surgery) as opposed to the conventional five cut sleeve. We do this as we know that less cuts means less complications such as less infections and less hernias. We saw a patient in our clinic today which illustrated the disastrous effects of a wound gone wrong. This gentleman had undergone a large cut to remove a kidney and now has developed a large hernia related to his wound. He describes it as constantly feeling his guts fall out everytime he moves. This will involve multiple major surgery to fix.

16/04/2021

Thank you for all your support. Could not have done it without you. Data collected allows safer and better bariatric surgery.

30/03/2021

Dr Wong at his part time job.

23/03/2021

Mindset is everything.

22/03/2021

A commonly asked question both before and after surgery. Will there be feelings of hunger after gastric sleeve surgery and what to do about it.

https://www.centralcoastsurgery.com.au/blog/will-i-feel-hungry-after-gastric-sleeve-surgery

Will I Feel Hungry After Gastric Sleeve Surgery? Central Coast Surgery Outline the Basics of Appetite After Gastric Sleeve.

03/02/2021

Maybe a new name for our clinic?

05/01/2021

We are back! Our office has reopened and surgeries will start later this week.

Best wishes to everyone who have allowed us to be part of their journey for better health and we look forward to working with all our new patients this coming year.

Goodbye 2020. It was a tough ride. Bring on 2021. For a bright and better future. We got this.

Dr Ken Wong and team

21/12/2020

Today was our last operating day for the year. Grateful for the team that has worked through a most challenging year and is still smiling.

Despite the challenges of Covid and stoppage of operations for 5 weeks earlier this year, we still performed about 450 bariatric operations including gastric sleeves, bypass, band removals.

For over 60 percent of our operations, we are now able to offer TILS surgery – Three Incision Laparoscopic surgery. We hope to be able to increase this percentage in the future. Less cuts means less pain, less scars, less hernias and better recovery.

Face to face consultations have largely been replaced by video and phone consultations and hence, we have often met our patients for the first time in the flesh on the day of operation.

We would like to thank all our lovely patients for their support during these testing times. Earlier this year, about 100 patients needed rescheduling of surgery without any definite time frame due to the uncertainties of Covid. Given the current up surge in NSW, we may yet face these problems again and we appreciate more than ever your patience and support.

Our office has closed for the year and will re-open again on 4th January 2021. We look forward to working with past, present and future patients.

Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year and your ongoing success in your journey for better health.

Much love and gratitude.

Dr Ken Wong and team

19/12/2020

For our upcoming patients, please note the latest NSW Health alert about hospital restrictions on entry for patients from certain postcodes and hotspots. Please contact the hospital if needing clarification and email us if we need to reschedule your surgery.

Updated information for visitors:

- Visiting hours are from 10am-8pm and all vistors are to ensure physically distancing of 2sqm per person.
- All visitors (including essential contractors or representatives) will be screened at entry to the hospital before access is granted to the hospital.

Patients and visitors who reside or work in identified hot spots are restricted from visiting all NSW Hospitals sites. Any exception will need to be discussed with the Hospital executive (e.g. in the case of an emergency or where treatment or care should not be delayed).

Further restrictions are also in place for Gosford Private Maternity Services. Learn more at https://gosfordprivate.com.au/visitors/visiting-hours

We appreciate your ongoing patience as we navigate this challenging time.

19/12/2020

We enjoy treating challenging patients. This week we successfully completed Three Incision Laparoscopic (TILS) gastric sleeve on a 250kg BMI 75 man after he was rejected for surgery by hospitals elsewhere for being too obese.

30/09/2020

7.45am Getting ready for a big day. 10 gastric sleeves to do. Everyone getting ready to do our best and hopefully giving 10 new leases on life.

29/09/2020

TILS surgery

Many of our patients ask us why they "only" received three tiny cuts after gastric sleeve or bypass surgery when social media and friends from other clinics received four, five or six cuts.

When we started back in 2009, we also made five or six cuts.

Thousands of gastric sleeve patients later, around early 2017, our clinic started offering Three Incision Laparoscopic Sleeve (TILS surgery). Since then, about 70% of our patients have received TILS surgery.

So why is the number of cuts important?

Less cuts means:

-less scarring
- better cosmetic outcome
- probably less pain
- less infection risk
- faster surgery / less time under anesthetic/ probably better recovery process

Longer term, less chance of hernia formation - just less wounds to deal with.

Our clinic constantly seeks to improve patient satisfaction and TILS surgery is just one of the many ways we are refining and improving what we do.

24/06/2020

Update.

Hello everyone. Hope all is well and thriving through Covid and isolations.

Today, we received confirmation from our hospital and government that from 1 July, we can resume full operating capacity. This is subject to ongoing review with regards to Covid numbers.

This means that we will be able to operate every Thursday as well as one Tuesday and one Wednesday a month for your convenience.

This is great news and we think we have offered places to all patients in the upcoming weeks to all those whose gastric sleeve surgery has been delayed by the recent Covid related restrictions. Generally, we are leaving revisional surgery patients, e.g bypass patients in their allocated date. Please contact us if we have missed anyone.

We appreciate everyone's patience and kind support in the past few months where there has been delays and unexpected changes.

We are still predominantly providing consultations via video and phone facilities for everyone's safety.

Hopefully we do not get any further lockdowns and we look forward to providing ongoing quality service.

Stay safe and kind regards

Dr Ken Wong and team

PS: Currently, we have vacancies for August if we can be of assistance to others who may be experiencing delays and backlog jams at other clinics.