wall street journal article

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB113864963711260122-GP0cg_y5KNjGByt1mDUI1NrL1Kg_20070131.html?mod=blogs I usually try not to get too caught up in what the media prints about WLS, but when I read this article from the Wall Street Journal categorizing bariatric surgery as cosmetic and in the category with face lifts, liposuction, etc. I had to respond. Here is a copy of the email I sent them. I encourage every body to send them a little note "clarifying" what gastric bypass really is! the email address is - [email protected] in reference to article listed below: http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB113864963711260122-GP0cg_y5KNjGByt1mDUI1NrL1Kg_20070131.html?mod=blogs Dear Sirs: I am writing in response to the article about the rise in cosmetic surgery in the US. The reason I am writing is because the article categorized bariatric surgery as "cosmetic" and "elective" Bariatric surgery is rarely either cosmetic or elective. Bariatric surgery is performed on those who have a BMI greater than 40, who are morbidly obese. Morbid Obesity IS a disease as acknowledged by the American Medical Association and the National Institute for Health. Those who are morbidly obese at at a very high risk of death related to their obesity. Many of them have very serious and life threatening co-morbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnea. In most cases these diseases are eliminated with the weight loss surgery. Gastric bypass is for the treatment and cure of a disease, it is not to be confused with procedures such as liposuction, facelifts and tummy tucks. I have pasted an article as well as the bibliography for the article that give a full explanation of bariatric surgery. Perhaps your author who wrote the referenced article could do some real research on the topic of bariatric surgery and you could publish a clarification of the previously published misinformation. Sincerely, (my full name) RN According to the American Society for Bariatric Surgeons I pasted the whole article but for this post I will just use the URL to the article http://www.asbs.org/html/patients/rationale.html