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Surgeon was so obese he had theatre gowns specially made |
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Gastric band gave |
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By Janet Boyle A LEADING surgeon has had weight loss surgery to shed 10 stone.  Chris Oliver (47), Convener of Examinations at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, opted to go under the knife after tipping the scales at 26 stone.A former marathon runner, Chris piled on the extra weight after becoming deskbound during his years of study and work. He’s qualified in surgery and IT and blames his obesity on years in the operating theatre and at the computer screen — “where not many calories are burned”.Weaknesses He smiled, “I went from marathons and white water kayaking to very little exercise and put on 10 stone in 20 years. “While I had the appetite of a sports enthusiast I didn’t exactly have the lifestyle. Bread and chocolate were my weaknesses.” Chris had a gastric band fitted around his stomach to limit his food intake in February and since then has lost more than six stone. He hopes to hit his target weight of 15 stone around Christmas. He decided on the surgery after a trip to China where colleagues left him behind when they walked on the Great Wall. “It was a turning point where I realised I was losing out on life too much and really disliked the person I had become. Breathless “My theatre gowns had to be specially made. I struggled to fit into plane seats and always had to ask for a seatbelt extension. “Even one flight of stairs left me breathless and I could only shop in outsize clothes shops.” Four years earlier Chris had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which is strongly linked to obesity. Complications include heart attacks and strokes. “I was heading fast for a massive coronary at 50 if I didn’t lose weight. Diets had only worked temporarily and I always returned to my old weight.”As a surgeon, he knew the risks surgery posed — blood clots, chest infections and a serious stomach tear. Between one and two per cent of patients die from complications.
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Living will“I reached a point where I felt I didn’t want to live at
26 stone because my life was becoming more and more constricted by my weight.”Nor did he want to survive in a vegetative state if surgery went wrong. So he made a living will and instructed his surgeon, David Galloway, to switch off his life support machine if serious complications meant he’d end up that way.He chose Mr Galloway because of his wide experience of the technique. “After seeing him deliver a speech at Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh I told him I wanted to become one of his patients. We swapped cards and I called him later. “I have sympathy for those who can’t afford private surgery and am lobbying hard to make it more available on the NHS.”Surgeons are not at their most comfortable operating on other doctors. “Who likes performing for or on colleagues? David was quite upbeat and confident of a good result but I later learned from another colleague that he was a bit nervous.” So too was Chris’s wife, Josephine. She’s a qualified counsellor and urged him to seek counselling instead of surgery. “I did postpone it for a few months but didn’t seek counselling because I knew only surgery would work for me. Failed dieter “I have no problems that counselling could address — I was just hopelessly overweight and a failed dieter.”His two daughters Alexandra (18) and Catherine (16), a member of the British Rowing Team, understood his reasons. “I wanted to live to see them become adults, have careers and perhaps get married and have children. What father doesn’t?”The surgery at the Nuffield Hospital in Glasgow went well and Chris left
20 hours later. Hours after surgery he got up and walked the corridor a dozen times to stave off the danger of a blood clot. “Each step took me forward to my new life.” Five months later, he is no longer diabetic and is back cycling and exercising at his local gym.“Next week I plan to go kayaking,”
he grinned. By all accounts Chris is much happier than he has been for years and has found what he describes as his “way back” after years trapped in obesity. “I knew I could only lose weight through surgery. For many years I had endured embarrassment as a very fat person. “Of course, I would often joke about my size but, truly, no-one really wants to be obese.”
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A much trimmer Chris is more than six stone lighter (above). At 26 stone before surgery,
he was clinically obese (below).
