MANILA, Philippines – There are different ways how people try to explain or rationalize excess weight gain. For some, it’s a matter of genetics — and that is what many people thought 27-year-old Lendsi Conos’s problem was. At his heaviest, Lendsi weighed 517 pounds at 5’10.”
Lendsi had an exceptional fondness for food.. Whenever there was something to celebrate, it was always with food. When he was sad, he made himself feel better by going to his favorite restaurants. When his parents or sister came home and brought food as pasalubong, Lendsi turned it into an excuse for family bonding. “Everything centered on food,” says Lendsi. “I couldn’t express myself in any other way but food. I was an emotional eater.”
Lendsi didn’t feel discriminated against because of his weight. He was doing exceptionally well in school—even managing to graduate valedictorian of his grade-school batch. In college at the Ateneo de Manila University, he did well in all his subjects. His family also made him feel loved and important, so it clearly wasn’t a problem of food being used as a substitute for parental attention.
It was really just his love for food that was the problem. Rice was his weakness: he could eat up to four cups of it with each meal. And he would eat several times a day: there was breakfast at 9 a.m., lunch at 11:30 a.m. and a snack in between. Then he would have merienda at 3 p.m, followed by dinner and a midnight snack—and sometimes, he’d even be snacking in between.
When he enrolled in a combined five-year MBA and Law program at the FEU-La Salle MBA-JD Consortium in Makati City, food took on a different role. It kept him company through all the late-night case review marathons and study sessions.
Lendsi’s Body Mass Index or BMI was 74.2 and was classified as super obese or having a BMI greater than 50. The BMI is used to determine the level of obesity by dividing the patient’s weight in kilograms by his height in meters squared. People with a BMI of 25 to 29 are considered overweight, those with a BMI of 30 to 34 are Type 1 Obese, while those with a BMI of 35 to 39 are Type 2 Obese. On the other hand, those with BMI 40 and above are Type 3 Obese or medically termed as morbidly obese.
Lendsi tried to lose the weight. He went on crash diets. At one point, carrying hundreds of pounds of excess weight started to become an inconvenience. Whenever he travelled overseas, he always had to fly business class mainly because he could not fit in the seats of economy class.
The moment of reckoning came in January 2006. Lendsi was playing badminton—when he felt himself blacking out five minutes into the game. “I was blacking out. I had to sit down, and it took me a while to normalize.”
Although Lendsi’s family had never made him feel ostracized because of his weight problem, they were relieved that he had decided to seek help.
Lendsi did his research and among the options he explored was the gastric bypass surgery, a procedure in which the stomach is cut and reduced to the size of an egg. He was not inclined to it, because the downtime was considerably long, and as a law student, he needed to get back on his feet as soon as possible.
He came across other options: first, the BIB System, or BioEnterics Intragastric Balloon, a 20-minute non-surgical procedure in which a silicone balloon is placed in the stomach through the mouth endoscopically using a gastroscope, then filling it with 400 to 700 ml of sterile saline to inflate it. This induces a feeling of early fullness in the patient, making him eat less. The BIB is removed from the stomach endoscopically without surgery in a reverse-procedure after six months. Although the BIB was the least invasive of all the treatment options, the best weight loss results with the BIB was 102 pounds in six months. He realized that even in a best case scenario where he would lose close to 100 pounds of excess weight, he would still be 200 plus pounds overweight and therefore consecutive BIBs would be needed.
Finally, there was the Lap-Band System, which is the original FDA-approved adjustable gastric banding that is placed around the upper part of the stomach and regulates food intake. Its medical-grade silicone elastomer band, when filled with saline solution, creates a small pouch and a calibrated opening to the rest of the stomach, permitting only small amounts of food to pass and thus making the stomach hold less food. It gives a feeling of early fullness or satiety and is considered as the safest weight-loss surgery.
Lendsi opted for the Lap-Band System. Not only was it cheaper than the gastric bypass surgery, it was also less invasive. The downtime was also minimal. Lendsi consulted with Dr. Edward Oliveros, a Key Opinion Leader (KOL) of Allergan Health and a bariatric surgeon of the BIB & Lap-Band Center, an information center which is located at the Medical Plaza Makati. Dr. Edward Oliveros performs his Lap-Band surgeries at the St. Luke’s Medical Center, a JCIA (Joint Commission on International Accreditation) hospital in E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue in Quezon City.
A Lap-Band surgery takes an hour or less to perform and the patient stays in the hospital for a day. But for Lendsi’s case, he would have to spend more than one day in the hospital because of his condition of being type 3 obese.
The Lap-Band, according to Bom Chan of the BIB & Lap-Band Center, is a long-term implant. It is inert, hypoallergenic, and does not interfere with normal bodily functions. “It interfaces with your biological system, and that makes it the safest and most effective weight-loss option. In the United States alone, they perform 4,000 Lap-Band surgeries every month and more and more international medical tourists are discovering the Philippines to be the destination for excellent Lap-Band surgeries.”
In August 2006, Lendsi went in for the Lap-Band procedure with Dr. Edward Oliveros at St. Luke’s Medical Center. “There was minimal post-operative pain, but overall, the surgery and post-surgery went very smoothly,” says Lendsi.
At first, Lendsi lost 20 pounds. By September that year—or a month after the Lap-Band was placed—he lost another 20 pounds.
Today, he weighs 225 pounds, with a 36-inch waistline. While some people would still consider that overweight, for Lendsi, it signals a whole new lifestyle. Now, he plays tennis and can fit into a regular-sized car, a Toyota Altis.
Lendsi is relieved that such procedures as the BIB and the Lap-Band exist. “If I were only more conscious of what I ate, then I wouldn’t have had to go through that,” he says. “But I’m thankful that these devices or procedures exist to help people like me. It helped me discipline myself more [in terms of eating]. The Lap-Band changed my life. Frankly, I don’t think I would have been able to do it on my own.”
The Lap-Band System is one of the revolutionary obesity treatments being offered at the BIB & Lap-Band Center at the Medical Plaza Makati, the first and only obesity-information center established in the country. Launched in April 2006, the center is a walk-in information hub on the latest trends in weight loss and severe obesity treatment. The center provides a comprehensive databank, which includes product literature, clinical dossier, video and audio materials and web access, all dealing with obesity solutions.
The information center prides itself of consultants and bariatric surgeons who have in-depth knowledge of obesity and its underlying problems.
For more information or to schedule for a private and discreet free patient info session, call 886-4673 or text 0917-LAPBAND (5272263). The BIB & Lap-Band Center/ Total Obesity Solutions is located at Suite LPO6 (21st Floor), Medical Plaza Makati, Amorsolo corner De La Rosa Sts., Legaspi Village, Makati City. The center is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mondays to Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. Regional patient info seminars are also conducted upon special request. For more information, visit www.totalobesitysolutions.com, www.bibasia.info, and www.lapbandasia.com.