"Experimental Procedure" 1 year death reate 4.6%
The most objective mortality data available to date was in a study published in JAMA, led by Dr. David R. Flum, M.D., MPH, of the Department of Surgery at the University of Washington, Seattle. They looked at actual 1-year death rates for all Medicare beneficiaries who had had bariatric surgeries in Medicare-approved centers from 1997 to 2002. Of the 16,000 patients, with an average age of only 35-54 years, death rates at one year averaged 4.6%, but among patients 65 to 74 years old, nearly 13% of the men and about 6% of the women died. In patients 75 and older, half of the men and 40% of the women had died.
To put these numbers into perspective, by comparison, a coronary bypass has a 2.6% mortality rate, yet those are mostly done on elderly patients who are seriously ill with multiple health problems. It’s important to realize that most of these gastric bypasses — 85 percent — are done on young women of childbearing age, according to Dr. Edward E. Whang, M.D. of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Such high surgical risks are not found in other elective procedures done on such relatively young patients, regardless of their weight. “In a series of over 2,500 appendectomies, there was not a single death in anyone under age 50, even with emergency surgery on a burst appendix," said Dr. Ernsberger.
I'd be interested to see comparable numbers to non-Medicare cases. Doing medicine "by the book" when that book is written as a one size fits all document by a govt bureaucrat sitting in DC might have something to do with it. As inflexible as private insurance policies have gotten, they still can't hold a candle to the govt.
I for one welcome the destruction and rebuilding of the medical profession here in America. Surely the present administration knows more about managing my health than my doctor and I do. And if you're wondering whether that's sarcasm or not, you might check my signature below.
The free man owns himself. He can damage himself with either eating or drinking....... If he does he is certainly a damn fool, and he might possibly be a damned soul; but if he may not, he is not a free man any more than a dog.
The free man owns himself. He can damage himself with either eating or drinking....... If he does he is certainly a damn fool, and he might possibly be a damned soul; but if he may not, he is not a free man any more than a dog.
First off Medicare Beneficiaries are a group of people with many more problems than just their eating disorder, secondly 1997 to 2002 are not the dates that you want to look at.
This surgery has made great strides since 2000 and you will be having surgery from a surgeon that has learned about making successful outcomes since 2000. The surgeons have placed many restictions on their patients since then. Just look at the boards to see how many of us are required to lose a specific amount of weight b4 surgery. Sometimes that is to make the surgery easier on the surgeon and sometimes to get us in the right state of mind. Do you really think that the medicare facilities required that in 1997? Reading relavent studied may be good research before surgery, but you have to sort through them with some common sense.
Robert
Common sense?
What the heck is that? Doesn't seem to be much of that left these days! 
ROLL TIDE!!!
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I'll just take one part...Surgery in 1997 was alot different than 2009...Much much much has changed!! It has gotten better and safer and safer.
In patients 75 and older, half of the men and 40% of the women had died.
Take someone who has been morbidly obese for 40-50 years...what does that do to their heart?? Kidneys? Their whole working systems??? They were a walking death sentence anyways...People don't let this guy scare you. Like I say (politely), he has issues. Brian
Oh and by the way statistics are for people who have nothing really important to say, so brush up on your statistics.
Oh and by the way statistics are for people who have nothing really important to say, so brush up on your statistics.
