Seoul St. Mary's Hospital has become the first hospital in the metropolitan area to receive the "obesity metabolic surgery medical institution" certification.

Operated by the Korean Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (KSMBS), the certification acknowledges surgeons and institutions that maximize the stability of obesity metabolic surgery, while ensuring proper quality control.

The designation came after Professors Lee Han-hong and Jung Yoon-ju obtained personal certifications in March.

To get personal certifications, doctors need to have a certain number of laparoscopic surgery experiences, proving their ability to perform obesity surgery safely, attend lectures provided by the KSMBS, and record their clinical data.

To receive institutional certifications, hospitals have to establish an obesity metabolic surgery committee, consisting of multiple departments in the hospital and provide patient education programs and post-certification data collection systems.

To this end, the hospital has been running an obesity surgery clinic, which provides personalized surgery management before and after operation for diabetic patients, who have trouble improving due to high-level obesity or failure to respond to medical treatment.

Obesity metabolic surgery varies depending on the method of operation, but it usually takes one to two hours. In addition to the surgical skills of surgeons, proper management and drug control are also crucial in surgical anesthesia.

There is also a need for a multidisciplinary system that can monitor and properly treat medical and mental health as well as gynecological diseases before and after surgery for cardiovascular, endocrine, and renal diseases.

"The certifications are a prerequisite for the hospital and doctors who want to help obese patients return to a safe and healthy life through metabolic surgery," Professor Lee said. "The hospital will do its best to provide healthier lives for more patients."