Obesity Surgery Is Much Riskier Than Previously Thought
A study published in the
October 19, 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)
revealed that the risks associated with obesity surgery (technically known
as bariatric surgery) are higher than previously thought. The study
shows that the obesity surgery, which is a very drastic way to lose weight,
is far more dangerous and involves considerably higher risks of death than
previously thought.
Previous
studies showed that the risk of death for this elective surgery was well
under 1 percent. This new study shows that among those ages 35 to 44, within
one year after surgery, 5 percent of men and 3 percent of women were dead. The
study also shows that the risk increases with age. Patients from 65 to 74
who receive this surgery are at a much higher risk. In this age group
13 percent of men and 6 percent of women died within one year after the
surgery. The study, involved 16,155 Medicare patients who underwent
obesity surgery between 1997 and 2002
University of Washington
surgeon Dr. David Flum, lead author of the study noted, "The risk of death
is much higher than has been reported." He continued, "It's a reality
check for those patients who are considering these operations."
Presently the number of these types
of surgeries have been increasing rapidly over recent years. The American
Society for Bariatric Surgery predicts obesity surgery will be performed
more than 150,000 times this year.
The conclusions of the
authors published in JAMA were, "Among Medicare beneficiaries, the risk of
early death after bariatric surgery is considerably higher than previously
suggested and associated with advancing age, male sex, and lower surgeon
volume of bariatric procedures. Patients aged 65 years or older had a
substantially higher risk of death within the early postoperative period
than younger patients." |