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After bariatric surgery, a fast heart rate, fever, severe abdominal pain or breathlessness needs emergency care immediately. These can indicate a leak, which is the most serious early complication. Tell any doctor you see exactly which operation you had and when.

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Bariatric and metabolic surgery in India

Sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass and revision surgery at NABH and JCI accredited hospitals across Delhi NCR, performed by surgeons doing these operations regularly.

This is surgery for the conditions that come with severe obesity — type 2 diabetes above all — rather than an operation about appearance. It works well, and it commits you to supplementation and monitoring for the rest of your life. Both halves of that need saying before anything else.

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Clinically reviewed by Dr. Annie Varughese, Consultant Bariatric and Metabolic Surgeon Clinical oversight Dr. Annie Varughese, MD, FACC Last reviewed August 2026 Editorial and medical review policy
The purpose
Metabolic disease
Diabetes, sleep apnoea, fatty liver
Supplementation
Lifelong
Not optional, and not a detail
Time in India
3 to 4 weeks
Longer for revision surgery
South Asian patients
Lower BMI thresholds
Complications appear earlier in these groups
On this page
  1. The follow-up matters as much as the operation
  2. Metabolic, not cosmetic
  3. Conditions we treat
  4. Operations explained
  5. How we choose the surgeon
  6. Risks, and when not to travel
  7. What your trip looks like
  8. Questions patients ask
Read first

The follow-up matters as much as the operation, and it is the part medical travel gets wrong

Bariatric surgery is not a single event. It permanently changes how you absorb nutrients, and the years afterwards require supplementation and monitoring that must happen somewhere. This is the most important thing on the page.

Supplementation is lifelong

Iron, vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium and a multivitamin, indefinitely, particularly after a bypass. Deficiencies cause anaemia, bone disease and nerve damage, and some of that damage does not reverse.

Blood tests at set intervals

At regular points in the first year and annually thereafter, checking for deficiencies before they cause symptoms. By the time symptoms appear, harm has usually already occurred.

Thiamine deficiency is the urgent one

In the early months, persistent vomiting with poor intake can cause thiamine deficiency and permanent neurological injury. Any patient vomiting repeatedly after bariatric surgery needs thiamine urgently, and many doctors unfamiliar with these operations do not know this.

Somebody near you has to do it

Before you travel home we give you a written protocol — which supplements, which tests, at what intervals — that a doctor near you can follow, and we remain available to them.

If you cannot arrange follow-up and cannot obtain supplements reliably where you live, tell us before booking anything. That is a reason to reconsider the operation, not a detail to sort out later.

Honestly

This is metabolic surgery, not cosmetic surgery

How this operation is framed changes who has it and how well it goes, so we are explicit about it.

The purpose is the conditions, not the appearance

Type 2 diabetes, sleep apnoea, fatty liver disease, high blood pressure and joint disease are what surgery is intended to treat. In diabetes particularly, the metabolic effect is substantial and begins before much weight is lost at all.

Eligibility is clinical, not aesthetic

Internationally accepted criteria use BMI together with the conditions obesity has caused. Lower thresholds apply for people of South Asian and some Middle Eastern backgrounds, because metabolic complications appear at a lower BMI in these groups.

The psychological assessment is not a formality

It screens for eating patterns that surgery will not correct and may make worse, and for expectations that cannot be met. A clinic that omits it is skipping a step that protects you.

Beware of before-and-after marketing

Clinics selling this on photographs and weight figures are selling the wrong thing. Ask instead about their complication rate, their leak rate, and what follow-up they provide.

If your main reason for wanting surgery is how you look, that is worth discussing openly with a professional before committing to a permanent alteration of your digestive system. It is not a reason we would refuse to help, but it is a reason to slow down.

Conditions

Conditions we treat

Each has its own page explaining the condition, what treatment exists short of surgery, and what surgery does and does not change.

ConditionDetailed page
Severe obesityRead → Type 2 diabetesRead → Obstructive sleep apnoeaRead → Fatty liver diseaseRead → Weight regain after surgeryRead →
Operations

Operations explained

There is no single best operation. Your existing reflux, diabetes, medication and any previous surgery all shape which is appropriate.

Procedure 01

Assessment before surgery

A proper workup is what separates a good outcome from a bad one. It covers heart and lung fitness, sleep apnoea screening, blood sugar and liver assessment, nutritional deficiencies that are common before surgery and worse after, endoscopy of the stomach, and a psychological assessment. That last part is not a formality — it screens for eating patterns that surgery will not fix and may worsen.

Time needed
1 to 2 weeks, much of it possible at home
Total time in India
2 weeks before surgery
Indicative cost
On request
Procedure 02

Sleeve gastrectomy

A large portion of the stomach is removed, leaving a narrow tube. It works partly by restricting volume and partly by altering the hormones that govern appetite. It is the most commonly performed bariatric operation worldwide, technically simpler than a bypass, and it does not reroute the intestine — but it can worsen or cause acid reflux.

Hospital stay
2 to 3 days
Total time in India
3 weeks
Indicative cost
On request
Procedure 03

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass

A small pouch is created from the top of the stomach and joined to a loop of small intestine, bypassing the rest. It has the longest track record of any bariatric operation, is generally more effective for type 2 diabetes and for reflux than a sleeve, and involves a permanent change to how nutrients are absorbed — which is why lifelong supplementation is not optional.

Hospital stay
3 to 4 days
Total time in India
3 to 4 weeks
Indicative cost
On request
Procedure 04

One anastomosis gastric bypass

A simpler bypass with a single join rather than two, widely performed and with good results in experienced hands. It is technically quicker than a standard bypass and effective for diabetes. Bile reflux is a recognised complication and long-term data are shorter than for the Roux-en-Y, both of which should be discussed openly before choosing it.

Hospital stay
3 to 4 days
Total time in India
3 to 4 weeks
Indicative cost
On request
Procedure 05

Revision surgery

Converting one operation to another, most often a sleeve to a bypass because of severe reflux or inadequate response. Revision is technically more demanding than a first operation, carries a higher complication rate, and the results are generally less predictable. It is not a routine second attempt and it deserves careful thought rather than being presented as a simple fix.

Hospital stay
4 to 6 days
Total time in India
4 to 5 weeks
Indicative cost
On request
Procedure 06

Nutritional follow-up and supplementation

This is the part that determines whether the operation succeeds over years, and it is the part most often neglected in medical travel. Lifelong vitamin and mineral supplementation, blood tests at defined intervals, and dietetic support. A patient who has the operation and is never seen again is the commonest way bariatric surgery ends badly.

For how long
Lifelong, with tests at set intervals
Where
Near your home, on a written protocol we provide
Indicative cost
Supplements are inexpensive and essential
Selection

How we choose the surgeon

Volume and leak rate, stated

How many of your specific operation the surgeon performs each year, and their leak rate. A leak is the most serious early complication and a unit that cannot quote its rate is not measuring it.

A full multidisciplinary team

Dietitian, psychologist, physician and anaesthetist experienced in bariatric patients. Surgery is the smallest part of a bariatric programme, and a surgeon operating without that team around them is doing half the job.

A written follow-up protocol you can take home

Which supplements, which blood tests, at what intervals, in a form your own doctor can act on. We will not work with a unit that discharges international patients without one.

Ask any unit three questions: how many of these operations do you do a year, what is your leak rate, and what follow-up will I have once I go home. Hesitation on the third is as concerning as hesitation on the second.

Honestly

Risks, and when we will tell you not to travel

Bariatric surgery carries real risks. A leak from a staple line or join is the most serious early complication and can be life-threatening. Bleeding, blood clots, infection, narrowing of a join, internal hernia and gallstones all occur. Nutritional deficiencies are common and, if unmonitored, cause anaemia, bone disease and nerve damage. Reflux may worsen after a sleeve. There is also an increased risk of alcohol-related problems after bypass surgery, which is rarely mentioned and worth knowing. Ask your surgeon for their own complication figures rather than published averages.

When we will tell you not to travel

Follow-up cannot be arranged at home

Without supplements and blood tests, a technically perfect operation ends in preventable deficiency disease. This is the most common reason we advise against travelling.

An untreated eating disorder

Surgery does not treat disordered eating and can worsen it considerably. Where the psychological assessment raises this, it needs addressing first — and that is care, not obstruction.

Unstable heart or lung disease

Severe untreated sleep apnoea, uncontrolled heart failure or recent cardiac events need stabilising locally before any general anaesthetic.

Expectations that surgery cannot meet

Where someone expects a transformation that no operation delivers, we would rather have that conversation before the money is spent than after.

Active alcohol dependence

Alcohol is absorbed differently after bypass surgery and the risk of developing a problem afterwards is genuinely raised. Existing dependence should be treated first.

Bariatric surgery works well for the right patient with the right support. Both parts of that sentence matter, and we would rather turn away an enquiry than arrange an operation whose aftercare cannot happen.

Your trip

What your trip looks like

A patient travelling for a sleeve gastrectomy or bypass, from first message to going home.

01
Send reports — day one
Height and weight, HbA1c, liver and kidney function, a lipid profile, and details of every medication. Sleep study results if you have them.
02
Written opinion — within 48 hours
Whether you meet accepted criteria, which operation suits your situation, a cost range, and what follow-up you will need to arrange at home.
03
Arrange follow-up before you travel
Identify the doctor near you who will do your blood tests, and confirm the supplements are obtainable locally. We do this step before booking, not after.
04
Assessment in India — 5 to 10 days
Cardiac and respiratory workup, sleep study, endoscopy, nutritional assessment and the psychological assessment. Any sleep apnoea found is treated before surgery.
05
Surgery and early recovery — 2 to 4 days in hospital
Laparoscopic in almost all cases. Walking the same day, with clot prevention and breathing exercises from the outset.
06
Staged diet progression — 2 to 3 weeks
A dietitian supervises the progression through textures. This period is when problems appear, which is why leaving early is unwise.
07
Home, with the protocol in writing
Supplements, blood test schedule, warning signs, and direct contact for your local doctor. Included, not extra.
Send reports for assessment
Questions

Questions patients ask

Internationally accepted criteria use body mass index alongside the conditions obesity has caused. Surgery is generally considered at a BMI of 40 or above, or at 35 and above where there are related conditions such as type 2 diabetes, sleep apnoea or severe joint disease. Lower thresholds apply for people of South Asian and some Middle Eastern backgrounds, because metabolic complications appear at a lower BMI in these populations. Your own numbers and history decide it, and we will tell you honestly where you fall.

There is no single best operation, and any clinic that says otherwise is selling rather than advising. Sleeve gastrectomy is simpler and avoids rerouting the intestine but can worsen reflux. Gastric bypass has the longest track record and is generally better for diabetes and for reflux, at the cost of permanent changes to absorption. Your existing reflux, diabetes, medication and previous surgery all shape the answer.

No, and thinking of it that way leads to poor decisions. Bariatric surgery is metabolic surgery — its purpose is to treat the conditions associated with severe obesity, particularly type 2 diabetes, sleep apnoea, fatty liver disease and joint disease. Judging it purely by appearance misses both the medical benefit and the seriousness of the commitment involved.

Serious and sometimes irreversible harm. Deficiencies of iron, vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium and thiamine follow bariatric surgery, particularly after bypass procedures, and untreated they cause anaemia, bone disease and nerve damage. Thiamine deficiency in the early months can cause permanent neurological injury. Supplementation is lifelong and is not optional.

You can travel home once the surgeon is satisfied, usually around three weeks. But the follow-up is the part that determines whether the operation works over years, and it has to happen somewhere. Before you travel we set out a written protocol of supplements and blood tests that a doctor near you can follow, and we stay available to them.

Eating changes permanently. Portions are smaller, some foods are less well tolerated, and eating quickly or drinking with meals causes discomfort. After a bypass, sugary or fatty foods can cause dumping — flushing, palpitations, cramping and diarrhoea shortly after eating. Most people adapt well, but describing it as returning to normal eating would be misleading.

Some regain after the first year or two is common and expected rather than a failure. Substantial regain warrants assessment of what has changed — eating patterns, a stretched pouch, an enlarged join, or an untreated psychological factor. Revision surgery is an option in selected cases, but it is more demanding and less predictable than the first operation.

Related pages: Bariatric surgery cost in India  ·  Liver and digestive treatment  ·  Orthopaedics and joint replacement  ·  All treatments  ·  Medical visa guides

Contact

Send us your reports

Send your height and weight, recent blood results, and a full list of medication. Tell us also whether you can obtain supplements and blood tests near your home — that answer shapes our advice as much as the medical details.

Your reports go directly to our medical team. We do not share your records with hospitals until you tell us to.

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