Two Logan-based senior dietitians have earned state-wide recognition for their innovative work aimed at making surgery safer for people living with obesity.
Dr Sally Griffin and Rainbow Lai were invited to present at the Queensland Health Research Excellence Showcase, where their work was selected as one of only 20 research projects from across Queensland to compete in the highly competitive three-minute pitch session.
Their presentation was based on research completed by Dr Griffin during her PhD, which focused on improving surgical outcomes for people living with obesity, who often faced higher risks during elective surgeries such as knee replacements, hysterectomies, or gallbladder removals. These patients may experience longer hospital stays and higher rates of complications due to factors like diabetes and high blood pressure.
“What we wanted to address is how we can optimise patients’ health to give them access to safer surgery,” said Dr Griffin. “We developed a model of care that helps patients rapidly and safely reduce weight and improve their health in the lead-up to surgery. It’s something we’ve been running successfully at Logan Hospital for several years.”
The model is based on a very low-calorie diet that helps achieve rapid weight loss and improve several health markers.
“Seventy per cent of our patients, who might have previously been considered too high-risk due to their weight-related health concerns, were able to proceed to surgery after going through our program,” said Rainbow.
What started as a small clinic at Logan has now expanded to a handful of other sites across Queensland due to increased interest from surgeons, but the team is advocating for state-wide implementation.
Their pitch at the Showcase called for greater investment to make this model of care accessible to all eligible patients across Queensland, including those in regional and rural areas where surgical support may be limited.
The dietitians are also exploring ways to extend the model to support people preparing for cancer surgery, which presents unique challenges.
“It’s a really new area,” said Rainbow. “Traditionally, dietitians focus on preventing weight loss in cancer patients, but some patients are now being referred to us specifically for weight reduction to lower their surgical risk.”
Dr Griffin and Rainbow’s work was born from the real-world clinical challenges they encountered at Logan Hospital.
“It all started with asking questions about how we could do things better,” said Dr Griffin. “You don’t have to set out to do big research from day one. It can start as simply as tracking patient outcomes in your own clinic and building from there.”
The team credits the strong collaboration with surgeons and the support of the Logan dietetics department for helping their research thrive. They’re now applying for grants to launch multi-site trials and hope their locally developed solution will soon become part of best practice across Queensland.
“We’ve seen firsthand how much of a difference this model can make,” Rainbow said. “Now we want to see it reach the people who need it, no matter where they live.”