An Examination Of Life After Gastric Bypass Surgery - By: Don Saunders

As obesity continues to increase in many Western countries we are becoming increasingly concerned about the health risks from being substantially overweight and of the increased risk of death arising out of obesity. But just how far can these risks be reduced by obesity surgery?

A recent study examined the histories of a substantial number of individuals who underwent bariatric surgery from 1995 to 2004 and discovered that in the region of one percent of patients died within a year of their operation and that roughly 6 percent died within 5 years. When these numbers were adjusted to account for age and sex and matched against figures for the population at large they were found to be quite high. So what exactly does this say about the ability of obesity surgery to lower the general risk to our health?

In order to find the answer this particular question then we have to look behind the headline figures and discover just why these deaths occurred and where the true variation lies between weight loss patients and the general population.

When we look at the detailed figures two things in particular stand out.

The first is the number of people whose deaths resulted from heart disease which is the main cause of death in the weight loss patients and is substantially higher than that seen in the general population.

The second is the number of deaths which resulted from suicide and drug overdoses which, though not formally classified as suicide, must nonetheless raise the question of whether or not such overdoses were truly accidental. Within the general population you could expect to find roughly 2 suicides in a group of the same size as that used in the study and yet this study group showed no fewer than 30 suicides and drug overdoses.

When we look at these results and consider them alongside our wider knowledge about individuals having obesity surgery then we may perhaps be able to understand this variation to a certain degree.

Although obesity surgery is usually extremely successful it is often not performed until individuals are suffering from other medical problems or comorbidities and, though surgery can cure a number of these conditions and lower the risk from others, many individuals are still at some degree of risk following surgery. For example, in many cases people continue to be troubled by such things as high blood pressure and diabetes and it is possibly unsurprising that this section of the population at large demonstrates an increased risk of heart disease.

Additionally, while obesity surgery may lead to a significant reduction in weight many people are still very much overweight for a long time following surgery and many individuals will stay that way for years to come.

As a final point, the changes in lifestyle which follow surgery can be dramatic and many individuals experience depression during the months following their surgery. Indeed a lot of attention is paid to the physical affects of weight loss surgery and the need for such things as a strictly controlled diet and exercise but, all too frequently, very little more than lip service is paid to the psychological affects of surgery.

Only time will tell whether this explanation is valid but there is little doubt that improvements to post-operative care for weight loss surgery patients could go a long way towards finding a solution for this difference.

About the Author

GastricBypassFacts.info provides information on all forms of weight loss surgery from the roux-en-y gastric bypass to mini gastric bypass surgery

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