Obesity Surgery Society of Australia and New Zealand-OSSANZ

OSSANZ started in 1980 with a meeting in South Australia of health professionals from New Zealand and Australia interested in the surgical treatment of severe obesity and has continued to meet since to discuss developments in this type of surgery. OSSANZ now also has members from Singapore and the Philippines. OSSANZ welcomes as members any Health Professional working in the field of surgical treatment of obesity including physicians, dieticians and nurses. OSSANZ is a foundation member of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity (www.ifso.com) which now has 31 member countries. IFSO meets each year for 3-4 days in different countries with up to 1200 in attendance discussing the latest developments in obesity surgery. This website is to introduce you to surgery for severe obesity and the specialist society that has been formed to encourage research, education and communication into this surgical specialty. This is not about cosmetic surgery or liposuction but is about major surgery performed only when all other methods of weight loss have failed in those people whose health is threatened by their obesity. The obesity health information provided is to reinforce the advice and education you receive from your own surgeon and family doctor. The main objective of the Obesity Surgery Society of Australia & New Zealand OSSANZ is to promote the advancement of knowledge, and maintain standards, in the clinical area of the diagnosis and the treatment of the disease of obesity, with particular emphasis on the use of surgical procedures; to promote and foster research in the basic and clinical sciences related to the disease of obesity and its treatment; to provide guidelines to relevant professional associations and colleges, as well as governments, on the training of clinicians and the practice of obesity surgery in Australasia; to facilitate contact between persons interested in this and allied fields; and to disseminate widely all information and new knowledge obtained, to form a closer association of the obesity surgeons of Australia & New Zealand for the advancement of the obesity surgery & management, it shall strive to maintain the character and standards of obesity surgery as outlined by The International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity.