Is this real or a scare statistic?

OK, so I am trying to do as much research on this as I can and I know there are risk. I am not blind to that, but I found a link to one of the major news chanels and the story, well, was kind of scary. http://www cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/21/earlyshow/contributors/melindamurphy/main668323.shtml I know we have to go into this knowing there are major risk, but does anyone have a site address that has "real" statistics rather than opinions? The informational meeting I went to on Monday night in Boone, well the dr said that the rate is very very low on deaths. I think he said something like 1 in 400. now that is a lot different than 1 in 50? Help on the numbers game please. Anyone have facts that are real? Thanks.

Those statistics are real.....but they are from the entire country!!! The rate used to be 1 in 200......I am not sure if they have recently lowered it or not tho......BUT there are SO many other things to consider.......One of the most important is YOUR surgeons rates......who cares what everyone else is doing.....ask him/her point blank his death/complication rate....he has to tell you!!!! I picked a surgeon with thousands of surgeries under his belt and a 0% death rate and he had only had like 2 comlications out of all his surgeries also. Another thing to consider....everyday you get in your car you have a better chance of dying then with the surgery. There are risks to everything.....some risks are just worth taking......It is a HUGE decision that only you can make....but don't worry so much about the national statistics.....only those of your surgeon!!! Take Care and keep us updated!!! Jesi

Thanks, that is what I was looking for..... The dr that was recommended to me by my PCP has a 0% death rate, so I think I will go with individual results rather than national...... I have been reading everything good and bad, so I know there are risk, but this one just sounded a little scary. But you are right, we get in our cars without thinking about it and I have lost family members and friends in car accidents. That does not make me any less probable to drive today or tomorrow. More cautious, but not going to give it up. Thanks!!!!!

I think that evey study ends up with different results & they chose to use results with a very scary number. On that same page there are links for other stories. One of them says "The International Bariatric Surgery Registry estimates one in 1,000 patients will die within four weeks of the surgery, and three in 1,000 will die within three months. Some surgeons in the field put the fatality rate as high as one in 100 who have the surgery." How confusing can that be? I think you have to check each individual surgeon's records. You chose an excellent surgeon with an excellent death rate--0! Same goes for my surgeon. Unfortunately, tomorrow could be the day they lose a patient. There are too many variables that are not in their control. Eventually it will happen. Our surgeons are very careful about making sure the patient is as healthy as possible before the surgery. I know of people who have their surgery postponed or even cancelled due to problems. My surgeon had one yesterday who had a heart rate problem. This poor guy went through his 2 weeks of liquids only to have the surgery postponed because his heart rate was too low on the day of his surgery. How fortunate that his surgeon was concerned enough about his well being to postpone it even though the poor guy was probably very disappointed or maybe even angry. A surgeon who wasn't real digilent maybe would have gone ahead & did the surgery, putting that man's life at great risk. Those are the surgeon's who having problems & losing patients. Another one of the links on that page mentioned that surgeons can go to weekend training to learn to do this surgery & then they come home & call themselves bariatric surgeons. Other specialties don't do this. They have long residencies with lots of supervision by more experienced surgeons. My surgeon went this route, thank goodness. We need to ask questions- what are your credentials, how many surgeries have you done, death rate, complications rate? Oh, also the numbers they mention fail to tell you one important fact. When they say that 1 in 50 dies with in a month or 1 in 200 or whatever number they use, thay neglect to explain that these deaths could be caused by any reason, even car accidents! Sounds really stupid to include that kind of death in this but they do. Dixie

That is NOT a recent study; it has been floating around for quite a while now. What you may have missed (since it was not the actual study that was posted) is that those deaths include ALL post-ops dying from car accidents, being struck by lightning, heart attacks (you name it) in the state of Washington. What is MOST important (and IS actually stated in the study...wish I had a link to give you) is what YOUR surgeon's personal track record is...how long he has been performing the surgery...how many surgeries he has performed, etc. When you said 'numbers game' you were right on...play with any statistics enough and you will get the results that are wanted...although, usually unwarranted. Do the research on your surgeon (mortality, leak rates, etc.) and go from there. ~~Sherry E.D.D. of Child #2~~11/11/05

Um...wow! No. Dr Glas**** in Cedar Falls was my surgeon and he has performed almost 1000 laproscopic surgeries with 0 deaths and only 3 small leaks that were fixed. You listen to your Dr's office about their mortality rates and complication rates. They know best. Iowa has some of the best surgeons for gastric bypass surgery. Nationally, we are "brought down" with the statistics. Just keepin' it real for ya girl!! Hugs, Jen

As already mentioned very accurately by the other posts, what really matters most is YOUR surgeon's record. That can also be a "numbers" game. A doctor could have done 50 of these and had a 0% death rate or he/she could have done 1000 and had a 0% death rate. These are obviously 2 different senarios. A more accurate study that has come out recently notes that the biggest contributor to outcomes is how many surgeries your doctor has done. If I remember correctly, the "magic number" is 200. In other words, physicians who have done under 200 of these surgeries have more complications than docs that have done more than that. I also agree that the doc's training is VERY important. I wouldn't go to a heart surgeon that didn't have long term, specialized training (A heart surgeon goes to med school, 5 years of general surgery residency and then another 3 years of vascular training - at a minimum) Why would I go to a surgeon, doing a very specialized, technically difficult surgery, that had only 2 weeks of training in it versus a fellowship/residency training? That is just MY opinion and something that I looked at before I made my decision. This is a decision that I know that you are taking very seriously and I commend you for looking into everything so carefully. You have every right to ask your doctor about his/her training, and complication rate. Best wishes for you as you continue this journey.

Dr. Sundberg is wonderful. He did my surgery last yr (5/11). He was very upfront about his stats when I asked. He'd had no deaths and only 1 serious complication at that time. He partners with Creighton University. He observes them and they come observe him. The best thing is that he's had it himself so when you ask a question, you know he really knows the answer. I had a post op infection and they were right on top of it. I had to call in every day. One day I was a little later than normal, and they called me. I was very impressed. I just had my year check up last week. I'm now down 109 with 11 to go. I'm gonna make it to goal. Something I never thought would happen. I've gone from a size 26 to a 10! Totally amazing. Lyn 262/153/142