Weight loss surgery is becoming popular as a solution to being severely overweight particularly in cases where a person finds it too difficult to lose weight through diet and exercise alone.
Bariatric surgery is the general term for this procedure, which works by surgically reducing the volume of the stomach. This restricts the amount of food a person can eat. It also alters the physiological as well as psychological responses of an overweight individual to food.
The result is rapid and dramatic weight loss. It should be noted, however, that it carries many risks connected with the procedure itself and its post-surgery effects. These risks include the following.
Surgical complications
Greatly overweight individuals have a higher rate of complications. For instance, they are much more prone to pulmonary embolism or blockage of the lungs. This is usually a fatal condition. Post-operative Pneumonia is also more likely in the obese. Wound infections become more likely, and because of the size and depth of the wound, can take a long time to heal. Complications can be much harder to identify and control in the morbidly obese patient. For instance, X-Rays do not penetrate deep enough, and the pictures are less clear. Additionally, very large patients may not be able to fit in some medical equipment.
Difficult operation
Bodily organs are fitted together. In order for a surgeon to see and operate on a specific area, the organs need to be held and separated in what is known as “surgical exposure.” This procedure can be very difficult to carry out in severely overweight patients because of the presence of great amounts of fat covering the organs. It would also make it more difficult to stitch surgical wounds.
Ineffective anesthesia
It could be difficult for anesthesiologists to determine and administer the right doses of anesthesia for severely overweight patients, again because of the great amount of fat, which may absorb the drug rendering it less effective during the operation, and more difficult to eliminate from the body after the operation.
Various other serious complications
There are a number of other risks and complications including infections, hernia, and blood clots.
Fatal result
Statistics for the number of people who die from causes directly connected to weight loss surgery vary, with one set of data claiming a figure of one out of fifty patients and another showing a figure of one out of every two hundred. Yet another set of data indicates two percent of all patients die within a month of the operation because of complications.
Weight loss surgery has seen improvements in recent years, with fewer risks and greater chances for patients to recover successfully and move on to better lives. However, it is still a serious procedure with unforeseen dangers for any individual. Therefore, unless it can be determined that it carries far more benefits than risks for a particular person, it should still be treated as a last resort.
Written by David Thackeray
IT Professional