"Study Finds the Chances of Dying Within a Year After Obesity Surgery Higher Than Thought
By LINDSEY TANNER The Associated Press
CHICAGO - The chances of dying within a year after obesity surgery are much higher than previously thought, even among people in their 30s and 40s, a study of more than 16,000 Medicare patients found.
Some previous studies of people in their 30s to their 50s the most common ages for obesity surgery found death rates well under 1 percent. But among 35- to 44-year-olds in the Medicare study, more than 5 percent of men and nearly 3 percent of women were dead within a year, and slightly higher rates were seen in patients 45 to 54.
Among patients 65 to 74, nearly 13 percent of men and about 6 percent of women died. In patients 75 and older, half of the men and 40 percent of the women died.
"The risk of death is much higher than has been reported," said University of Washington surgeon Dr. David Flum, the Medicare study's lead author. "It's a reality check for those patients who are considering these operations."
I am uncomfortable with the big business this surgery has become. I understand that for some people, it may be a good option, but it really requires a lot of work on the part of the person who gets it, and the way it is marketed as a "quick fix" doesn't really prepare people for the long and critical recovery work they will have to do.
----------- Jen
Posts: 2868 | Location: Ohio | Registered: March 11, 2004
I will apologize to all those who have had the surgery before I go on.
But this news doesn't surprise me. It's invasive drastic surgery that alters the body's ability to function normally. Yes, there are those morbidly obese people for whom it's death by being so heavy or possibly death by this surgery, yet, at least the surgery has possibilities for them. But for those who aren't morbidly obese, it is a matter of using your body to heal itself. I know this sounds cruel and very biased, but it's not a matter to be taken lightly. I ache everytime I hear of a person who is maybe 100 pounds overweight resorting to this method of weight loss. I have a dear friend who had the surgery and her health has suffered ever since. She is in worse shape health wise than before she had the surgery, yes she is a thin size 12, at 120....but she isn't healthy. She has difficulty exercising, can't eat barely anything, has developed various diseases associated with being over weight, not at weight. I could cry for her and for those who resort to this method of weight loss.
It's never too late to get it right.
Posts: 3473 | Location: Central USA | Registered: March 11, 2004
Originally posted by p7eggyc: I wonder how they control for what the death rate in the same period would be without the surgery. It seems like within a year of the surgery...
Maybe I've been working at the CDC too long.
I thought the same thing... Maybe I been reading too many studies...
Here is a good article from WebMD on the same subject... but it does point out some positive things about weight loss surgery (WLS).
A local television station did a story about a young women before-during-after "obesity surgery". She didn't die, but had life threatening complications from the surgery.
I have actually seen television commercials promoting the surgery. I fear that it is being seen as a first choice, rather than a last resort.
Those are sobering numbers. I need to read the article but I wonder how they control for what the death rate in the same period would be without the surgery. It seems like within a year of the surgery, the people are still pretty heavy as they are losing that weight so I wonder if the study tried to control for that factor in any way. Just having the surgery doesn't solve the obesity and its related issues until they actually have time to get the weight off and then of course, there are the remaining health issues that are 'permanent' like diabetes that can't be 'cured' by losing weight.
