Over 6,000 bariatric surgeries are performed in Tunisia each year, mainly on foreign patients.

Tunis: Over 6,000 bariatric surgeries are performed in Tunisia each year, mainly on foreign patients, said President of the Tunisian Society of Bariatric Surgey (TSBS) Hatem Jabbes.Jabbes, who spoke Saturday in Tunis at the first Congress of the association, created in January 2024, added that bariatric surgery started in the 2000s in Tunisia in both the public and private sectors."Bariatric surgeries and gastrointestinal surgeries are mainly performed to combat chronic diseases which often cause several life-threatening complications, such as diabetes, heart attacks and strokes. They are often deemed necessary to take the patient out of the danger zone,» he pointed out.He stressed that the success rate of these operations exceeds 80%, but to successfully overcome obesity, the patient must adopt a new lifestyle including a healthy diet, physical exercise as well as psychological care.According to data presented during this meeting, obesity affects 25% of Tunisians. Specialists highlighted that obese p atients are exposed to many health difficulties which could pose a threat to their lives, adding that several treatment methods can put an end to obesity.The first congress of the Tunisian Association of Bariatric Surgery aims to exchange expertise and experiences in the field of obesity surgery and learn about technological and scientific developments in this field.The Tunisian Society of Bariatric Surgery, an extension of the scientific activity of the Tunisian Association of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, aims to bring together Tunisian and foreign practitioners working in the field of bariatric surgery, in order to achieve new progress in the field of gastrointestinal surgery, medical instrumentation and the fight against obesity.Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse