Ecuadorian doctor, Marco Albán, leads team with the highest volume of bariatric surgeries in Chile

This is stated by Dr. Marco Albán García, bariatric surgeon and head of Surgery of this private health network that is part of the Chilean Chamber of Construction (CChC). “We provide our patients with the peace of mind and expertise they need to make a life change,” he adds.

During the pandemic there was a progressive increase in overweight and obesity in the Chilean population, which will surely lead to a greater number of bariatric surgeries during 2023, without the factor of closing wards for non-emergency surgeries, a measure taken by the Ministry of Health in part of 2020 and 2021. However, already during the current year, this type of intervention has increased by approximately 30% in RedSalud, which has nine clinics throughout the country.

“We are talking about millions of Chileans who would benefit from bariatric surgery to improve their quality of life. This does not have aesthetic purposes, but to lose weight, control the progression of comorbidities (diseases associated with obesity), reduce cardiovascular risks and, therefore, that patients gain years of healthy life”, emphasizes Dr. Marco Albán García, bariatric surgeon and head of Surgery at RedSalud.

This private health network with the largest coverage in the national territory, which is part of the Chilean Chamber of Construction (CChC), which promotes “inclusive, non-exclusive, quality health and affordable prices”, has bariatric surgeries in all its regional RedSalud Clinics (Iquique, Elqui, Valparaíso, Rancagua, Mayor-Temuco, Magallanes) and in the RedSalud Clinics of the Metropolitan Region (Providencia and Santiago and Vitacura).

“Clínica RedSalud Santiago is the one with the highest volume of bariatric patients in the entire network. On average, between 900 and 1,000 patients are operated on annually. Therefore, we are talking about days with 8 to 12 surgeries, and many times two or three surgical teams operate at the same time, in different pavilions”, the surgeon points out.

Consequently, he affirms that “this is the health network that performs the most bariatric surgeries in all of Chile and one of the networks that operates on the most patients in Latin America, making us leaders in this surgery; therefore, we provide our patients with the peace of mind and expertise they need to make a change in their lives after undergoing bariatric surgery.”

MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROGRAM

Asked about the advantages of performing bariatric surgery at any of the nine RedSalud Clinics throughout the country, Dr. Albán lists several. The first thing he highlights is that they have “a multidisciplinary program that comprehensively evaluates the patient with regulations and guidelines that are appropriate to what is recommended by National and International Scientific Societies.”

In addition, he underlines that the nine clinics have an ad-hoc team for this comprehensive treatment and mentions that many of his specialists belong to the Chilean Society of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery.

On the other hand, he points out that in the last three years, the volume of bariatric surgeries performed at RedSalud Clinics exceeds 6,000 interventions, which provides safety to patients. “To combat obesity and its associated diseases, they are treated by teams specialized in this solution,” he adds.

Another advantage offered by the RedSalud Clinics is that bariatric surgery (gastric sleeve or gastric bypass) is much more accessible than before.

“With several Isapres this surgery is packaged with very good prices compared to the market. In the case of patients who have Fonasa, they can opt for the PAD Bariatric Surgery Bonus, since our nine clinics are providers of this benefit, which provides 50% of the financing of the surgery with a fixed and previously known amount to be paid. being an excellent choice cost vs. effectiveness”, reports the bariatric surgeon and head of Surgery at RedSalud.

Finally, it is important to point out that it is essential to receive a multidisciplinary approach in the treatment of obesity, where nutritionist, nutritionist, psychologist, surgeon and kinesiologist intervene. The follow-up that multidisciplinary teams provide to patients suitable for bariatric surgery is commonly in this order.