More than 300 morbidly obese people waiting for weight loss surgery in Saskatoon have been told the program is being cancelled.

Patients have been told to seek other options after learning that as of mid-June, no more bariatric surgeries will be performed in Saskatoon — the main centre for the procedure in Saskatchewan.

The cancellation has left many people like Kathy Glasgow — who's been waiting four years for her operation — wondering what they will do now.

"I feel hurt because this is the one thing I looked forward to," she said. "We've been waiting … it's like a waiting game with my life."

In bariatric or stomach-stapling surgery, doctors shrink the stomach to restrict a patient's diet. The patients become full after eating less food, and weight loss results.

The surgery has proven useful for helping extremely obese people who suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes and other maladies. With the loss of weight, their overall health often improves.

The availability of surgeons to do the operations is part of the problem.

Dr. Brian Colquhoun was performing bariatric surgery in Saskatoon until last spring when he stopped because of his own poor health. Only one other doctor has been doing the surgery since then.

Now there is no one who is willing to take over from Colquhoun, something he admits leaves his patients in a bind.

"With the knowledge I have of the state of the obesity surgery in Canada, I would imagine it's going to be very difficult," he said.

Some Saskatchewan patients have gone to other countries for the surgery, but Saskatchewan Health will not pay for people to go out of the country if bariatric surgery is performed in Canada. Meanwhile, other provinces where the surgery is done also have long waiting lists.

The Saskatoon Health Region says it is not actively seeking a new bariatric surgeon. Instead, it's hoping the Regina Qu'Appelle Health District will establish a comprehensive weight loss centre, something that's already in the planning stages.

Morbidly obese means a person is more than 100 pounds overweight and has a body mass index of 40 or higher, according to Health Canada. Normal BMI is 18.5 to 24.9.