Obesity and cancer! 80-year-old woman gets two birds with one stone surgery and is reborn

Obesity is the root of all diseases and is one of the risk factors for cancer. An 80-year-old grandmother named Chen from Kaohsiung City sought to lose weight due to morbid obesity. During a checkup, she was unexpectedly diagnosed with stomach cancer. Fortunately, the doctor performed laparoscopic surgery, gastric bypass weight loss surgery and stomach cancer resection at the same time, thus "killing two birds with one stone" and solving the problems of obesity and cancer at the same time.

80-year-old Grandma Chen (left) successfully lost weight and had her stomach cancer removed through a "kill two birds with one stone" surgery performed by Dr. Tsai Ming-hsien (right). (Photo provided by E-Da Hospital Weight Loss Center)

This "killing two birds with one stone" surgery, which is rare in the country, was a case treated by Dr. Tsai Ming-hsien, director of the Weight Loss Center at E-Da Hospital. He said that the 80-year-old grandmother surnamed Chen was only 150 cm tall but weighed 95 kg, with a BMI of 42, which was considered severe "morbid obesity". After the operation, she lost more than 20 kg of fat and her health improved significantly.

Morbid obesity kills two birds with one stone

Grandma Chen is unable to walk due to her overweight and also suffers from diabetes, arrhythmia, and respiratory arrest. Before losing weight, he could only sit in a wheelchair and be taken care of by his family. He would be out of breath after walking a few steps and could hardly take care of himself. In April last year, accompanied by his family, he went to the hospital's weight loss center to seek help.

Unexpectedly, during the examination, it was discovered that the old lady had stage 1 gastric cancer. The medical team then decided to use minimally invasive surgery to first remove the gastric lesions, then perform a lymph node clearance operation, and then a gastric bypass surgery. The entire operation took about 5 hours, "killing two birds with one stone" at once.

Dr. Tsai Ming-hsien (pictured) stressed that weight loss surgery is the only way to treat morbid obesity in the elderly. (Photo provided by E-Da Hospital Weight Loss Center)

Aging and obesity in the elderly

Dr. Tsai Ming-hsien emphasized that the country has entered an aging society, but the elderly obese population accounts for about 1/5 of the elderly population. Due to the decline in metabolic function of the elderly, not only does it increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, it is even one of the risk factors for "three highs" chronic diseases and cancer, and must not be underestimated.

According to the latest research, surgery is the most effective and lasting method for treating obesity, and can reduce an average of 61% of excess weight. In addition, surgery itself can completely cure 77% of diabetes, 70% of hyperlipidemia, 62% of hypertension and 86% of obstructive sleep apnea, without the need for additional medication control.

Preoperative evaluation to improve complications

In particular, when the body weight exceeds the ideal body weight by 45 kg, or the BMI is greater than or equal to 35 and there are complications caused by obesity, or the BMI exceeds 40 and has become harmful to health, it is called "morbid obesity" and surgical treatment should be considered. Only weight loss surgery can solve the fundamental problem.

However, preoperative evaluation and communication are very important, and this weight loss surgery also involved tumor removal. E-Da Hospital has completed four cases within one year, and the elderly woman surnamed Chen is currently the oldest patient. After more than half a year of follow-up, the patient lost 20 kg in weight, his sleep disorder improved, and there was no recurrence of gastric cancer.

[Doctor's reminder]:

Since the current National Health Insurance subsidy for weight loss surgery is only provided to patients aged 20 to 65, although the woman was 80 years old and could not receive National Health Insurance benefits, due to other health problems caused by obesity, after evaluation, it was still necessary to undergo weight loss surgery and gastrectomy, which finally allowed the old lady to get rid of the nightmare of obesity and cancer. Therefore, when facing obesity in the elderly, preoperative communication and evaluation are very important.