X-post Why Bariatric Surgery can fail Part II

Here is a blog entry of a well-respected bariatric physician in Canada.  He has done a recent series about why he supports bariatric surgery with pros and cons.  His credentials are impeccable.

http://www.drsharma.ca/obesity-why-bariatric-surgery-can-fail-part-2.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AryaSharma+%28Arya+M.+Sharma%2C+MD%29

Some people might not want to read what he says because it goes against what they hope, but it has the ring of truth to it.    Read it with an open mind.

Call me easily satisfied but if I get down to 225, I'm going to be pretty dang elated...I was only shooting for 220 but the docs think I should try to get to 200 atleast. I guess this is more difficult to apply to a male who is 6'2" with a huge frame who at 200 lbs is going to look like a bean pole....one doc said I need to be 170...I'd fall over every time the wind blew...but yes I see the point...my only hope out of this is to improve my health and extend my life expectancy. All other benefits have just been icing on the sugar free cake...

The stats this article is quoting sounds like the lapband stats.  I believe the sleeve success is much higher that 25-30% of excess weight lost.  I failed with the band, but I have been doing amazingly well with the sleeve.  Weight loss is hard work, no matter what surgery you have.  It is never easy!

I'd have to agree, all the statistics and studies I've seen show a 50-60 (high 50's IIRC) of EWL at 5yr PO.. one is at 6yr PO with a 53% EWL.. Some are even pointing to a possible better outcome due to changes in the way the sleeves are made now vs early out.

Granted, regain happens, but I do not see anyplace in actual studies that show 25% EWL..?? I'd love to see where he gets his statistics he notes in his article.

ETA: maybe he's incorporating gastric banding and VBG stats, and possibly stapling (?) into this total? Those two do have lower long term success.. but? Either way, it is just another thought to keep in our heads..

Read it again---he's not talking about EXCESS weight at all, but a per centage of one's HIGHEST EVER total body weight. So if you EVER weighed 400, and you lost 100 lbs, that would be 25% according to his terms.

Yep- I caught that after I wrote the post. We're just so conditioned to see EWL from everything else we read..

Yes, and I don't really understand why HE doesn't. I mean, a person 5 feet tall and weighing 400 pounds is far "fatter" than a 6-footer weighing the same. And sometimes we disparage people who say they only need to lose 75-80 pounds---but I have a friend who's only 4'9". 80 pounds is a really BIG deal for her.

The article is NOT talking about EXCESS weight---his stats are a % of TOTAL BODY WEIGHT, which is why they look so low to us here.

My doctor was comparing it to lap-band as well but I don't think so.

I think he is talking about 20-30% of total body weight, not excess body weight.  So that means if I weigh 275, then I should lose 20-30% of that, or 55-83 pounds.  That's more than 40% to 60% of my excess body weight (135 pounds).