More than 1,000 obese Manitobans are waiting to see if the provincial government will approve a weight-loss surgery program that could save their lives.

A total of 110 patients, all women, have undergone bariatric surgery as part of pilot program Manitoba Health has funded since late 2010.

But the program's future is uncertain, as the province is in the process of reviewing it.

Dr. Chris Andrew, who heads up the pilot program unit, said he believes that bariatric surgeries must become more accessible.

"In the private system, the bottom line is that a lot of people couldn't do that simply for financial reasons," he told CBC News.

"We're doing the surgery as a treatment for patients, not just to lose weight and look better, but to help with conditions associated with obesity like diabetes [and] hypertension."

Private clinics offered weight-loss procedures in the beginning, but the costs were out of reach for many people, he said.

2 types of surgery offered

The Manitoba Health pilot program offered two types of bariatric procedures:

• Gastric bypass surgery, which reduces the size of one's stomach and changes how the stomach and small intestine handle food.
• Vertical sleeve gastrectomy, in which the stomach alone is reduced in size.

Andrew said two-thirds of the patients in the program underwent gastric bypass surgery, while the remaining one-third had vertical sleeve gastrectomy.

Dr. Chris Andrew heads up the Bariatric Surgery Initiative at the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, which has carried out the Manitoba Health pilot program. (CBC)

Andrew said a total of about 1,300 Manitobans had applied to the pilot, and 110 women were selected to participate.

The pilot program has focused on female patients because it is generally more difficult to operate on obese men, who carry more of their weight around their abdomens, Andrew said.

Of the 110 patients who took part in the pilot, two per cent experienced complications. That's below the national average of three to four per cent, Andrew said.

Andrew's unit, the Bariatric Surgery Initiative at the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, has submitted its results and is waiting for Manitoba Health to decide whether the program should be expanded.

'I got my life back'

Michelle Christie and Michelle Flint both went through the pilot program and say their lives have improved as a result.

Christie, 40, who was upwards of 311 pounds before the vertical sleeve gastrectomy, said she has lost 116 pounds to date.

Michelle Flint says she lost about 100 pounds and no longer has diabetes since she had gastric bypass surgery last year. (CBC)

"I got my life back. I really did," Christie said.

Flint, 37, said she has lost at least 100 pounds since she went through gastric bypass surgery last year.

Not only did Flint have to tailor 12 inches off her wedding dress, but her diabetes is in remission.

"When I got told that I had diabetes, it was like a death sentence to me," she said.

"I don't worry about death as much [now] … and I really worried about death."