Can anyone tell me the fatality rate for laprascopic gastric bypass?

It depends on the surgeon, but the national average is .5%. It is higher for surgeons who have done less procedures and the average gets lower when they have done more than 200 surgeries.

Davina, I agree with Steph. A recent review of published literature of 126 papers on bariatrics covering over 26,000 patients quoted mortality or fatality rate at less than .3% for pure restrictive procedures .5% or less for gastric bypass in ESTABLISHED bariatric centers with EXPERIENCED bariatric surgeons. Journals are filled with papers on the "learning curve" which is felt to be somewhere between 75 to 100. Certainly with 200 or more surgeries performed the surgeon is more proficient. Remember this is from bariatric programs that publish their results not from those that don't. Usually these are from experienced surgeons who have performed several hundred to thousands of procedures and therefore their numbers are larger and therefore their result improved. Many papers with smaller numbers "my initial experience". quote a mortality range from .5-4% with experiences of their first 100 patients. One paper also reports that there is even improved mortality when comparing a surgeon who is experienced in other laparoscopic surgery that begins performing bariatrics to one who has undergone a full 1-2 years fellowship in laparoscopic surgery and bariatric surgery. As always experience is the key to performing safe surgery. The laparoscopic gastric bypass is considered on of the most if not the most difficult surgery to perform with minimally invasive techniques. I consider it the same as going to a vascular, plastic, or pediatric surgeon where significant additional training is required to perform their specialty surgery. Good Luck Sincerely Calvin Selwyn, M.D. Assistant Prof of Surgery UC Center for Surgical Weightloss