1 in 50 Die from Bariatric Surgery

I have heard this before. And I would like to call attention to it, in-as-much as it highlights the risk and consideration required to commit to getting this surgery.

A recent study by researchers at the University of Washington found that 1 in 50 people die within one month of having gastric bypass surgery, and that figure jumps nearly fivefold if the surgeon is inexperienced. The full article is available here.

Other resources do corroborate this finding, stating 1-2% morbidity as a "side effect" (that's one hell of a big side effect).

Although this is a startling statistic, compared to the morbidity rate of other surgeries - as there are always risks, consider this as well:

• Obesity is the number one indicator of diabetes risk. The higher your BMI, the sooner you'll develop Type 2 diabetes. The majority of obese people will develop Type 2 diabetes in their lifetime. A BMI greater than 27 indicates a risk for developing type 2 diabetes, and other health problems which include cardiovascular disease, and premature death.
  
  
• The parallel increase of obesity ... is reported to be the most significant factor for the rise in diabetes.^[1]
  
• 40% of Canadians with diabetes develop long-term complications^[2], including:
  
  - Heart disease and stroke
  - High blood pressure
  - Lower-limb amputations
  - Blindness/Diabetic eye disease (retinopathy)
  - Kidney disease
  - Nervous system disorders
  
  
• Many patients who undergo GBP or BPD report long-term normalization of plasma glucose levels. The operations appear to restore insulin sensitivity, prevent progression from impaired glucose metabolism to frank diabetes, and decrease the rate of mortality from diabetes in persons who were previously morbidly obese. ^[3]
  
  
• You are 100% guaranteed that you WILL DIE eventually. What quality of life do you want in the time you have left? Would you risk all the time you have against a 98% survival rate with the payoff being a massive increase in the quality of the time you would have after the surgery?

Another long post, and many things to consider. I currently already am presenting symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome - the 2^nd of 3 stages, with the last stage being full Type 2 diabetes.

I suppose the question really is "would you risk your life to make it better?". Am I happy with the current quality of life I have? No. Would I rather continue to live this way forever? No. Of course, I could also just get hit by a bus tomorrow and none of this would matter. Life is full of risks and all we can do is consider the balance and the payoff. At 32 years of age, in good health (besides being morbidly obese), with good cardiovascular health (considering), my chances are good of avoiding an untimely death.

Also, your best consideration for your risk factors include your surgeon's own history. If his history of success is higher than 98% then yours is too. The more of these specific surgeries your doctor has performed, the lower your risk. All of these things should be considered before this surgery, and it must be understood that any surgery involves risk.