WA Weight Loss Centre
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Weight Loss Surgery offering personalised and comprehensive care.

Hi, I’m Dr Werapitiya.

I’m a specialist Weight Loss Surgeon with over 16 years experience operating in Bunbury. We are here to help people live their best life.
Get in touch!

We offer competitively priced bariatric surgery packages including after care.

Privately Insured Patients

fixed $3,500 out of pocket surgeon fee for any type of bariatric surgery
(gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, primary or revision)

Self Funded Patients

Total package cost of $17,500 for any type of surgery
(pre operation investigations including gastroscopy is a separate cost)

We also provide

Gastric band removal surgery with no out of pocket cost.
Special accommodation packages for out of town patients.

Introducing our education series

Learn more about obesity in our series of short educational videos.


Would weight loss surgery benefit you?


BMI is one of the leading ways of measuring obesity,
find out if you’re a candidate for surgery.

cm
kg
Your BMI is

  • UNDERWEIGHT
  • NORMAL
  • OVERWEIGHT
  • MORBIDLY OBESE
  • SUPER OBESE

YOUR CURRENT
WEIGHT

40kg

BMI 40.0

HEALTHY BMI
WEIGHT

88kg

BMI 24.9

WEIGHT LOSS NEEDED TO
ACHIEVE A HEALTHY BMI

24kg

or 28% of your overall body weight

Your Expected weight loss in 1 year

With the most common treatment options

3.5kg

or 3.2% of your overall body weight 1

Lifestyle Changes

3.2 - 6.7kg

or 5 - 10% of your overall body weight 2,3

Prescription Medication

22 - 37kg

or 20 - 33% of your overall body weight 4

Weight Loss Surgery


Percentages are based on the weight loss averages

1) Sumithran P and Proietto J. The defence of body weight: a physiological basis for weight regain after weight loss. Clin Sci 2103; 124: 231–41.RACGP. Obesity prevention and management position statement 2019. Available at https://www.racgp.org.au/FSDEDEV/media/documents/RACGP/Position%20statements/Obesity-prevention-and-management.pdf, accessed September 2022. 2) Pilitsi E, et al. Pharmacotherapy of obesity: Available medications and drugs under investigation. Metab Clin Exp 2019; 92: 170–92. 3) Lee PC, Dixon J. Pharmacotherapy for obesity.Aust Fam Phys. 2017; 46(7): 472–7. 4) NH&MRC (2013) Clinical practice guidelines for the management of overweight and obesity in adults, adolescents and children in Australia. Available at https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/clinical-practice-guidelines-management-overweight-and-obesity, Accessed September 2022.

Your Expected weight loss in 1 year

With the most common treatment options


Percentages are based on the weight loss averages

1) Sumithran P and Proietto J. The defence of body weight: a physiological basis for weight regain after weight loss. Clin Sci 2103; 124: 231–41.RACGP. Obesity prevention and management position statement 2019. Available at https://www.racgp.org.au/FSDEDEV/media/documents/RACGP/Position%20statements/Obesity-prevention-and-management.pdf, accessed September 2022. 2) Pilitsi E, et al. Pharmacotherapy of obesity: Available medications and drugs under investigation. Metab Clin Exp 2019; 92: 170–92. 3) Lee PC, Dixon J. Pharmacotherapy for obesity.Aust Fam Phys. 2017; 46(7): 472–7. 4) NH&MRC (2013) Clinical practice guidelines for the management of overweight and obesity in adults, adolescents and children in Australia. Available at https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/clinical-practice-guidelines-management-overweight-and-obesity, Accessed September 2022.

At your BMI, the Australian Obesity Guidelines(9) recommend my target weight loss should be:


No recommendation based on your BMI.

Answer the questions below, and we can contact you to discuss your treatment options

Tell us about any other health issues

If you do not meet the BMI or weight criteria, you still may be considered for surgery if your BMI is over 30 and you are suffering serious health problems related to obesity.

Do you have either of these serious health concerns?

Have you experienced any of the following Health Risks Associated with Obesity?

BMI is not the only criteria

Something here about lifestyle or how long you’ve been trying to lose weight and what you’ve tried.

Tell us if any of these apply to you

What is your outlook on weight loss?

Readiness to begin your weight loss journey is important.

How committed are you to your weight loss journey?

Fill in your details to have these results sent to you.

If you choose, we can share information about your health, medical history and lifestyle with our team who will determine whether you are a candidate for weight loss surgery.

Surgery types

Weight loss surgery FAQs

Bariatric or weight loss surgery is the most effective way of sustained weight loss. They are major surgery involving key hole or laparoscopic access to the belly cavity making changes to the stomach or stomach and intestine. Rapid weight loss and long term maintenance is the result. Post bariatric surgery effects are due to physical effects like portion control, Caloric malabsorption and other gut hormone and neuronally mediated changes like reduced hunger, early and sustained satiety after a meal and enhanced metabolism. Overall it leads to a correction of the physiological derangement that led to obesity in the first place . With these changes after surgery body now naturally wants to maintain a much less fat mass (lower fat mass set point) which makes getting into and maintaining a lot lower bodyweight much easier.

Weight loss surgery is major surgery with potential serious complications and side effects which are fortunately rare. They are not for everyone, certainly not for someone who wishes to simply lose a small amount of weight. On a risk benefit analysis they are indicated only if you fulfil certain criteria. General guidelines are as follows.

Age over 18 Yrs.

BMI over 35 with or without related medical co-morbidities.

BMI ≥ 30 and at least one or more obesity-related co-morbidities such as type II diabetes (T2DM), hypertension, sleep apnoea and other respiratory disorders, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, osteoarthritis, lipid abnormalities, gastrointestinal disorders, or heart disease.

Inability to achieve a healthy weight loss sustained for a period of time with prior weight loss efforts by other means.

No psychiatric or drug dependency problems and have no contraindication for major abdominal surgery.

A capacity to understand the risks and commitment associated with the weight loss surgery

Weight loss surgical patients require detailed and extensive assessment, education and preparation and strict long-term follow up for successful results and to minimise complications. This process involves multiple visits for office consultations. Typically, you will see the Doctor at least three times prior to and three times in the first year after surgery and usually once a year after that. You will pay consultation fees up to $ 3500/- in total. For outpatient consultation visits associated fees, you will be eligible for a Medicare rebate. Please note that Private health Funds do not cover any outpatient consultation fees and regardless of the level of cover, you will be required to pay these fees.

With WA weight loss centre all your surgery associated costs are billed directly to the health fund with no GAP. This means that you will have the same out of pocket costs for gastric sleeve, any type of gastric bypass, primary or revision weight loss surgery. With us you will be free to make the appropriate choice of weight loss surgery without financial considerations getting on the way.

If you choose to have bariatric surgery in a private hospital as a self paying patient, the total cost would be close to $20,000/-. Major part of this is to cover operating theatre and hospital bed costs. Having an appropriate level of private health cover you will bring this cost down to a minimum. You will need to have the top level Gold cover and should have completed a 12 month waiting period from joining the fund.
For more complete guide please see cost of bariatric surgery.

To book a consultation with Dr Werapitiya, you need to have a referral letter from your GP. Often a referral with recommendation to have bariatric surgery is helpful as your GP is the doctor who closely knows your medical history. Once we have received the referral you will be contacted from our office and generally you will be able to see Dr Werapitiya for the first consultation within 3 weeks.

Allowing time for education and pre surgery preparation, generally you can choose to have surgery 4 to 8 weeks after the first consultation. However after the first consultation you need to be prepared to spend as much time as necessary to make an informed choice and feel comfortable with your decision. You also need to time your surgery in such a way that you will have the much required time and space after surgery to comply and adjust to diet and lifestyle changes. Occasionally for people with complex medical history or extreme BMI, a longer preparation time may become necessary.

Individual experience of recovering from bariatric surgery can be variable. However most patients have a better recovering experience than anticipated mainly because of the minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery. Dealing with pain and nausea are the issues in the first few days. After discharge from the hospital maintaining adequate liquid intake and protein intake becomes priority. Over the next few weeks you will gradually get back eating a normal diet and normal level of activity. Most people will be able to return to a office job by the end of second week.
For more detailed account on recovery, please click the following link.

As with any surgical procedure , complications can occur after bariatric surgery. You may have even heard the occasional horror story and you may have some concerns. It’s true, the risks of bariatric surgery were much greater when it was first developed than it is now. However the latest data suggests that currently bariatric surgery is safer than having your gallbladder removed. This is mainly due to the advent of minimally invasive techniques and the experience we have gained with these procedures.
Bleeding, wound infection, venous thrombosis and embolism, accidental injury to internal organs are all rare complications of any laparoscopic surgery. Staple or suture line leak is the most feared complication of all because it can make people very sick quickly and is potentially life threatening.

Accreditation and professional associations

Royal Australia College of Surgeons Logo
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Royal Australia College of Surgeons Logo
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consultation

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Weight loss surgery Info pack

Download our free info pack to further understand the weight loss surgery process.

  • Learn more about obesity
  • Understand your procedural options
  • Prepare for surgery

Safe and effective weight loss surgery specialists.

Book a Consultation

Weight loss surgery with over 16+ years experience. We are here to help people live their best life. Get in touch.

Bunbury Practice

Suite 3,
Corner of Roberston Drive
and Bussell Highway,
Bunbury WA 6230

All Appointments

P: 08 9722 1700

F: 08 9722 1699

E: reception@countrysurgical.com.au

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