Just curious but

I don't know the answer, but that's a good question you ask, shewolf.

You might try the mayo clinic web site and the harvard medical school newsletter, first public sites I can think of. Serious med journal articles would make sense to look at, given access to them. Surgical textbooks in a university biomed library....

I would have never thought of that.. thanks.

Found this...looks like it has good information

Gastric Bypass - Mayo Clinic

You might want to poke around this site:

biariatric surgery statistics

That's how I found out about retinitis pigmentosa, which I have a light case of, some time ago. I read the whole proceedings (say, 300 pages) of a medical meeting in Germany about the problem. Gagggg, all those bell shaped curves...
But that was back when you could just check a card catalog. I've no idea about library access these days.

my aunt cindy had this done about 10 years ago.
maybe longer... Im not positive.

She was over 300 lbs and went down to a size 12

She is now approaching 250 I bet and it is all due to her diet.
Im not sure though, if she can gain much more. It seems to me that she had the full open procedure which not only reduces the size of the stomach, but the size of the intestine too..

After reading this , it seems to be a common occurance for those who dont change thier diet's and maintain a healthy activity level.

though, I still dont see death statistics.
Maybe that just isnt too common.. ?

I remember not too long ago I heard that something crazy like one in onehundred people died from this . But they would die on the table.

Now that makes sense to me as , when you have someone who is really overweight laying on their backs with thier hearts slowed down, the weight of thier chest ( especially females) could cause the heart to stop all together . But, you would think that the doctors would have something in place to change that outcome?
Or.... it was just a rumor to begin with.

I remember seeing some show (probably Oprah) where it was shown that women particularly, who have had gastric bypass surgery, get drunk much quicker and on less alcohol than before surgery.

Something to think about. :wink:

im already cheap.
2 beers and im asleep

well, then I guess after surgery you could get loaded off just the fumes!

That....quite frankly, is scary


So, I have been hunting down the old statistic of 1 in 100 people die while having surgery, yet I can not find it.
I hunted through that link you sent GW for almost an hour.

Granted, that link is more honest then anything else I have read, but .. Im still not finding what I am looking for.

I guess I can just ask a doctor. They might know..

Your aunt that gained her weight back?

Yeah...I'll bet it's all about her choices.

Thinking of the people I know that have had it done....

One woman, in her 50's, lost an enormous amount of weight, I'm sure over 200 pounds....and 5 years later still has it off. Her job is very demanding and she travel extensively. I've seen her eat before and after, and she truly seems to enjoy her meals more now.
Before, it was like "whatever. I'm fat and I'm tired and really busy, I'll just order whatever" Now, she can't eat as much, and understand she has to make every calorie count, for it's nutritional value. So, she picks only what she absolutely wants, not just eating something because it's there. She looks really really healthy.

Another woman I know lost a lot of weight....and piled it right back on. I sat at a table with her at a work function, where the food was on a buffet, and couldn't believe what was on her plate. pasta salad, some other carb and a bit of vegetables. Too be honest, they weren't little portions either. She was well on the road by that time to stretching her stomach out again. Then, she went back and got a piece of baklava!!!!
Months and months after her surgery, she showed me her scar. It ran up her abdomen for several inches, and looked red and angry and, well, infected. She readily admitted it wasn't healing because she didn't eat enough protein, and her hair was falling out.

The other person is a guy I knew from the gym, and he too kept the weight off. Coincidently, he traveled a lot on his job too.

This news was released this week:

http://www.happynews.com/news/8232007/weight-loss-surgery-boosts-survival-rate.htm

I assume it is no mystery that I am considering this.
For many reasons.

129 deaths is actually a smaller rate then procedures for cosmetic reasons


(sigh)

I'm interested not so much in what happens in the OR, but in what happens when people regain the weight, re popping the intestine/stomach/peritoneal complications.. Maybe that doesn't happen, but I am... just curious.

Though maybe your statistics included that, if there are such complications.

our stomachs are able to expand no matter how small you cut them.
I am guessing it is justlike any other muscle in the body.
You stretch it enough and it stays that way.

Shewolf--

Don't you have to be 100 pounds over your ideal weight?

yes.

I qualify

Shewolf--

You don't write like a fat woman--perhaps the thin woman inside is ready to come out--particularly if the excess poundage is causing other problems.



Remember the "comparison group" were equally obese patients who did not have bariatric surgery. They died from the complications of obesity. Granted, the study dealt with relatively small numbers of people, but the results move bariatric surgery from the Optional-Personal-Enhancement category to Life Saving Procedure.

My personal experience with bariatric surgery is all third and fourth hand, ut I've done some reading.

I learned from a very reliable grapevine that a number of Former Fats become alcoholics--they replace one addiction with another.

Pre-op screening to weed out unsuitable candidates is becoming more and more discriminating. Remember, Success Stories are a surgeon's stock-in-trade. Dead Patients and Fat-Again Patients detract from a surgeon's reputation.

These days I think you have to have a proven record of working out before the operation. In a way, it is a bit like sex-change surgery. You think you want your body to conform to your inner self-image, but you may not have considered all the implications.

Further surgery to remove excess skin (which can be donated to burn patients) will probably be necessary. There will be scars.

You know that if you decide To Boldly Go that you'll have lots of on-line support from A2K.

Hold your dominion.