Adelaide Bariatric Centre

24/04/2025

Adelaide Bariatric Centre has been looking after patients in the North, South, East and West of South Australia for nearly 30 years, since we started in 1995. We even get some people coming to see us from Melbourne, Perth and Northern Territory! We have clinics at Bedford Park, Norwood, Wallaroo and Victor Harbor, making access easy for people located anywhere in or near Adelaide.

Currently we have 4 surgeons who are not only Bariatric surgeons, but also general surgeons. This means they do weight loss surgery, but can also fix your hernia, remove your gallbladder or investigative procedures such as an endoscopy or colonoscopy. Most of our surgeons also work in the Public system across metropolitan and rural South Australia.

If you are looking into weight loss surgery, head over to our team page to have a look at who our surgeons are, or check out what procedures we do and what they involve. Our friendly reception team are always ready to take a call if you need further information.

01/04/2025

Have you got questions about weight loss surgery? We’re here to help!

At Adelaide Bariatric Centre, we know that taking the first step toward surgical weight loss can come with a lot of questions—big and small.

Whether you're curious about the procedure, recovery, costs, or life after surgery, we’d love to hear from you!

Drop your questions in the comments below, or send us a message, and we will create a few video answers with extra insight from both Dr Jacob Chisholm and Dr Lilian Kow. No question is too small—let’s start the conversation!

Welcome to the Adelaide Bariatric Centre, home of Adelaide's leading weight loss surgeons.

31/10/2024

One common question we get at Adelaide Bariatric Centre is, "I'm having surgery to lose weight, why should I have to lose weight beforehand?"

While your surgery is designed to achieve weight loss, for most people it is important to lose weight prior to surgery. This is important for many reasons, but the main reason is to shrink your liver. Why is this important?

If your liver is too large, it can obstruct your surgeon's view of your stomach. If you can shrink your liver prior to surgery you reduce your risk of injury to surrounding organs.

A smaller liver makes it easier to work with laparoscopic tools, allowing for more precise movements. This can make the procedure quicker, reducing the time you are under anesthesia.

Patients with a smaller, less fatty liver tend to experience fewer complications, both during surgery and in recovery. This reduces the risk of bleeding, inflammation, and postsurgical complications.

Preoperative liver shrinkage usually involves following a high-protein, low-carb diet that also helps patients lose some initial weight, which is beneficial for postoperative recovery and long-term success.

If you decide to proceed with weight loss surgery, our team of doctors, dietitians and lifestyle coaches are here to help guide you through the process. We want to see you succeed and will work with you to achieve the best outcome.

30/10/2024

Mindful Eating: Cultivating a Healthier Relationship with Food

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to eat on autopilot—grabbing meals between tasks, scrolling through our phones while we chew, or mindlessly munching in front of the TV. However, mindful eating invites us to slow down and cultivate a deeper awareness of our eating habits. Here’s how you can embrace mindful eating and transform your relationship with food.

What is Mindful Eating?

Mindful eating is about paying full attention to the experience of eating, acknowledging physical hunger and satiety cues, and appreciating the flavors, textures, and aromas of your food. It encourages us to slow down and savor each bite, making meals a more pleasurable and intentional experience.

Head over the our website to read the full post:
https://adelaidebariatriccentre.com.au/news/

20/09/2024

Here at Adelaide Bariatric Centre we have a couple of incredibly talented receptionists.

Kelly-Jade is a photographer and loves to capture special moments such as maternity or newborn shoots. She is also our go to when we have any photography needs. You can check her out at: https://schinellaphotography.com.au/

Our newest staff member Sarah is an incredibly creative soul as you can see from the picture. Amazing but that is a bouquet of cupcakes! They are so realistic and taste AMAZING! You can check her out at: on Facebook

One of our Drs ordered this lovely bouquet for a friends birthday and we were lucky enough to have Kelly-Jade take this beautiful photo for us.

23/08/2024

For the first week of September, the IFSO (International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders) World Congress is being held in Melbourne. This is a very exciting and busy time of year for our practitioners.

During the Congress, Professor Lilian Kow and Dr Jacob Chisholm are heavily involved in the organisation of the event and are chairing some of the educational sessions. Surgeons and practitioners from all over the world will be in attendance, sharing their knowledge and skills.

As the Congress is in Australia this year, the majority of our practitioners are attending. Don't worry though, if you do have any urgent issues that arise during this time, all of our surgeons are available to be contacted in true emergencies.

19/07/2024

At Adelaide Bariatric Centre, we have recently updated our policy regarding how bariatric surgery can be funded. Check out our cost page to find out more. https://adelaidebariatriccentre.com.au/cost/

We hope this change makes weight loss surgery more accessible and we look forward to joining you on your journey.

31/05/2024

Meet Dr Christine Brumfitt
Christine has been with Adelaide Bariatric Centre since 2021 when she completed her fellowship under Professor Lilian Kow and Dr Jacob Chisholm at the Flinders Medical Centre. Since then she has become an important member of our team.
Christine does all types of Bariatric surgery, along with general surgery, specialising in gastrointestinal surgery.
Check out her profile for more information. https://adelaidebariatriccentre.com.au/our-team/dr-christine-brumfitt/

24/05/2024

To qualify for Bariatric surgery, the required BMI has recently been revised by IFSO (International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders).

If you have a BMI over 30 and have any weight related illnesses, such as Type 2 Diabetes, Sleep Apnoea or GORD, you qualify for Bariatric surgery.

If you do not have any weight related illnesses, your BMI needs to be over 35.

To discuss further, give reception a call and they will be happy to assist.

17/05/2024

To come through our rooms you do need to have Private Health Insurance. To be covered for weight loss procedures, you need the top level or Gold level health insurance. This can vary from fund to fund, so it is important you check with your insurer to see if you are covered. Give them a call or check online to see if you are covered for the following item numbers:

- 31572
- 31575

If you are covered there are no issues with proceeding from an insurance perspective. If you are not covered, you will need to look at increasing your level of insurance. This will normally involve a 12 month wait time for any procedures you plan to have. While we know this can be frustrating it is a really important step.

To privately fund weight loss procedures, we estimate it to be around $25,000 to $30,000 if all goes as planned. This usually includes 1 night in ICU, just in case. Should you require longer in an ICU bed, this can cost around $5,000 per night on top of the original cost. For this reason, we do not operate on patients who wish to self fund as it is too costly and too risky should anything not go as planned. While rare, it can happen and we want our patients to receive the best possible care.