Memorials

Anybody else start reading the memorials page, pre-surgery?  Every one of those people ALSO thought they were doing 'THE RIGHT THING'.  They went to hospital, had the WLS, BUT they never came home. I don't need these kinds of thoughts... 

Of course, there's risk with any surgery and some people even call OH people "WLS cheerleaders", so you should decide just how safe it is on your own, but all I've seen is fewer and fewer complications over the 1.5 years I've been visiting/ posting here. Basically, the docs are getting better and better, the bad ones are exiting and so forth. Just get as good a surgeon as you can find. I had surgery on a Thursday and was back at work on Monday and was okay to work out seven days post-op.

Dave

 

"I had surgery on a Thursday and was back at work on Monday..." Wow!  Is that typical?  Maybe I've mis-read, but i was thinking it was more like 2-3 weeks off work. Keeping my absence from work down to a few days would be great!  

I took two weeks off, but I could have went back after a week. I don't do any lifting, I am a desk jockey. pan head

Box, Yeah, Dave just ****** me off!   I am a little touch jealous of some of these- "I was back at work the next week!" Types. Couple of things about that Memorial page… Some of them passed on because of things unrelated to there Bariatric Surgery, Some due to problems they had prior to surgery that weren’t changed by starting to lose weight, And some because they waited too long before addressing their weight issues. That said, there are some there who passed on from surgical complication. Hell, I nearly made the list!! (profile) Bariatric Surgery is a great choice for those who have tried other methods And repeated failed. Serious life-changing event. Everyone must make their own decision. The ‘Memorial Page’ are very likely to generate emotional response. It is always wise to weigh all options. I? Tend to gravitate toward the Statistics and Facts…. 10% increase in Life-Span is the final "Number-Crunch."

Hope it’s useful info….. ---------------------------------------------------------------- SOME OUTCOMES OF BARIATRIC SURGERY (information taken from Clevland Clinic Journal of Medicine, March 2006) Dr. Buchwald (*) collected data on outcomes of bariatric surgery In a meta-analysis of 22,094 patients. The average excess weight loss for all types of procedures was 61.2%. When stratified by type of surgery, the average excess weight loss was: • 47.5% for gastric banding • 61.6% for gastric bypass • 68.2% for gastroplasty • 70.1% for biliopancreatic diversion/duodenal switch. Overall, each type of surgery was safe, with the more complex surgeries Carrying a greater risk of morbidity and mortality. Mortality ranged from a low of- 0.1% for restrictive procedures To 1.1% for biliopancreatic diversion/duodenal switch. The Effect on Comorbidities? Importantly, the reductions in comorbidities are also quite impressive. In this same meta-analysis, Diabetes resolved in 76.8% of cases, Lipid profiles improved in 70.0%, Hypertension resolved in 61.7%, And obstructive sleep apnea resolved in 85.7%.(*) Effect on life span? Evidence suggests that bariatric surgery also increases life span. In a study comparing survival between 62,781 morbidly obese patients Who had undergone gastric bypass And 3,328 morbidly obese patients who had not, The 15-year survival rate for patients younger than 40 years was 13.8% For those who underwent surgery vs 3.0% for those who did not.(**) (A 10% increase of Life Span) Effect on overall health costs? Studies are beginning to emerge that suggest that bariatric surgery Yields savings in overall health care expenditures over time. Typical are the results of a retrospective study by Potteiger (***) In 51 consecutive patients with obesity-related hypertension and diabetes Who underwent bariatric surgery. The average number of medications Taken by these patients fell to from 2.44 preoperatively to 0.56 At 9 months after surgery, and the total monthly cost of their diabetic And Anti-hypertensive medications declined 77% over the same period. Obesity is a major public health problem in developed nations worldwide. Currently, the only treatment for severe obesity (BMI ≥35 kg/m2 with comorbidity) That provides long-term weight loss is bariatric surgery. Restrictive, malabsorptive, and combination procedures have been developed. Each type of procedure has its merits and unique set of risks and complications. Weight loss after bariatric surgery is accompanied by predictable improvement Or resolution of obesity-related comorbidities and improved quality of life And life expectancy. Candidates for bariatric surgery are often at high risk for complications Because of obesity-related comorbidities. Therefore, careful patient selection for bariatric surgery, Together with well-designed strategies for preventing and managing complications, Are keys to success. Close monitoring for nutritional deficiencies And short- and long-term complications is required To completely assess outcomes of these procedures. From the following studies------- *. Buchwald H, Avidor Y, Braunwald E, et al. Bariatric surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA 2004; 292:1724–1737. **. Flum DR, Dellinger EP. Impact of gastric bypass operation on survival: a population-based analysis. J Am Coll Surg 2004; 199:543–551. ***. Potteiger CE, Paragi PR, Inverso NA, et al. Bariatric surgery: shedding the monetary weight of prescription costs in the managed care arena. Obes Surg 2004; 14:725–1730. Hope research helps weigh the odds. And hope this helps others just scanning by as well! Best Wishes- Dx

 

Unless I am looking at the wrong page. I cant even find a 2007 date, and most of the ones I look at are not even WLS related. Car Accidents, Cancer, Problems from being MO that WLS was not in time to help. I am not saying it isnt a ris****rtainly know it is and maybe I will be a little more worried as my time approaches, but for now, I am comfortable with my decision, and most importantly I am comfortable with my faith, should the worse happen. 

I hear you Troy.  I'm comfortable with MY faith as well - I KNOW where I'll go when I die.  I'm just not in a hurry to get there, ya know? 

It's important to know and understand the risks associated with WLS or with any major surgery for that matter.  It's true, some have died in surgery or from post-surgical complications.  But it's also true that for each death there are thousands of successful surgeries...THOUSANDS.  For me, I took comfort in knowing that the success rate and post-surgical complication rate with WLS is more than acceptable and is showing continued improvement.  Those seeking surgery should have their surgery performed by highly experienced surgeons with low mortality and complication rates.  Me personally, while there are competent surgeons in my town, I did not feel comfortable with the number of surgeries performed.  I went with experience and success rate in another city for my piece of mind. This is one of those "is the glass half full or half empty" deals.  For me, it was a matter of dying far too soon or at best living a life with deteriorating health.  It was an easy decision - I was going to die if I did not do it.  But each person must decide this on their own!  While many find this odd, I feel strongly about my decision to have this surgery, I do not recommend it for anyone else. Why? Because it's not up to me on how someone arrives at their decision to have surgery, or chooses their surgeon, or how they choose to live their life as a post-op. This is always a good topic to bring up every few months! Cards Fan

Hi Boxman,      I started reading and I think I read through all of them. It made me realize what an important decisision I was making. It helped me get serious about what I was about to do and to check up on my surgeon and to ask questions about how many he had done and what kind of complications and/or deaths he had had. Any surgery can be a life threatening, but it is even more so for an obese person.  I got serious about giving myself the best chance to make my surgery a sucess. I followed the instructions from my Doc and Nut. My surgery only took 45 minutes. The doc said it was because I had shrunk my liver by following the pre-op low fat diet he had put me on.  This is not a quick fix or even an easy one for that matter. I watch every thing I eat and try to make good choices.  Thursday will be 6 months. My highest weight was 375, the day of surgery I weighed 324. This a.m. I weighed 207. I have went from size 54 jeans to 38. I was to the point where I had read all the memorials and was about to back out. Then I started to remember the low point that made me even think about surgery in the first place. I asked my self if I didn't have the surgery what was going to change. Make your choice based on as much information as you can get. Then do what you feel is right for you.  pan head