What Is The Latest On Bariatric Surgery?

By Author: Steven Johnson
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By some standards, there is a disturbing social trend where people choose the easy way to achieve the desired results. At one end of the spectrum are the people who, when they disagree with the tax authorities, crash their light airplanes into the tax offices — there is no quicker and easier way to register your unhappiness. And then there are the rapidly increasing number of people who opt for bariatric surgery to lose weight. In fact, the number of operations performed in the US has doubled over the last six years. No more struggle to keep to a diet and exercising. Just a quick and easy operation to solve all your weight problems. So how safe is it? Well, such evidence as exists suggests the operation is a success in up to 44% of all cases. With just one surgical intervention, your body mass index (BMI) falls rapidly and there are no complications. But, in up to 56% of cases, the surgeons feel they have to recommend what is delicately called revisional surgery, usually because you have not lost enough weight, but also because some experience complications — another delicate term suggesting there is a chance of ...
... death unless the surgeon goes back inside to do repairs. And this is where the statistics get exciting. The death rate during or following revisional surgery used to be 50%. But, the death rate has been dropping as surgeons gain more experience and technology improves.

The latest research comes out of Greece. It confirms the drop in the death rate, but finds a continuing high rate in complications over an average of eight years following the second procedure. Surgery was performed on people with a BMI average of 47, which is high and may partly explain why complications were more common. For the record, the patients who repeated the operation because they had not lost enough weight dropped from an average BMI of 55 to an average of 35 — a drop of almost 70% in their excess weight. More generally, Greek surgeons keep almost everyone alive, but these people are still badly damaged. A recent report from the US claims that, following the gastric bypass procedure, only 10% of patients have revisional surgery, but it is admitted the percentages increase for the other types of surgery. Unlike Greece, there have been no research projects collecting evidence over longer periods of time. Literally, no-one knows the current rates of complications or death related to revisional surgery.

It is not the purpose of this article to suggest you should never have bariatric surgery. Some who have tried and failed to lose weight the conventional way should consider the option. But it is not unfair to point out that no-one dies from eating a healthy diet, supported by the use of phentermine hcl. There are no complications of bile leaking internally from the site of an operation. Yes, there may be some injuries if people begin too violent a program of physical exercise. With the help and supervision of therapists, this risk can be minimized. What can be said is that the death rate from people who eat sensible amounts and buy phentermine online is insignificant when compared to surgery. Given the international rates for revisional surgery (not contradicted by any US research), you might decide the risks of complications are just too great. With fifty years of proven effectiveness, phentermine hcl helps more people lose weight safely than surgery.