Obesity surgery carries risks

A man had bariatric surgery (reduces the size of the stomach) to assist his weight loss and found it very successful. He lost 127 pounds in 7 months and this motivated him to exercise and eat better. He found the surgery a turning point in his battle against obesity. He also found that his diabetes was cured, his cholesterol count became normal and the severity of his sleep apnea reduced considerably. The National Institute of Health reports that the number of obese Americans has doubled in the last 2 decades and now 30% of Americans are obese. 5% of these are morbidly obese which means they are more prone to an early death due to heart problems caused by the obesity. This year, roughly 140,000 bariatric surgeries are expected to be performed. Candidates for the procedure are people who are over 100 pounds overweight and have failed several weight loss methods or are being plagued by health problems such as heart disease and diabetes. Statistics show that patients who have gastric bypass lose roughly 75% of their excess weight compared to 55% in those who have a LapBand. Surgery side effects can include heart attack, stroke, infection, internal bleeding, blood clot, pneumonia, leaking connection between stomach pouch and intestine or blockage of the connection between stomach and pouch.

Source: summary of medical news story as reported by Bradenton