Question:
WHAT PERCENT OF PEOPLE DIE FROM WLS?

   — blank first name B. (posted on August 12, 2001)

August 12, 2001
1/2 of 1% was the percentage I came up with prior to my surgery, during all of my research. However, do ask your surgeon how many patients died and what they died from? You may be surprised at the answer. The few that did die in my surgeons case, were mostly caused from the comorbidities, not from the surgery. All surgeries have risks involved. Good luck to you.
   — Barbara B.

August 12, 2001
I heard it was one in 200 but personaly find that hard to believe. I feared more a heartattack IF I can't get my weight off. I think the risks of weight related health problems are greater than the risks of surgeries. I've had 11 surgerys (only one WLS) and I'm still here. ;)
   — Danmark

August 12, 2001
Well, this is a major surgery, and as long as you are put to sleep, even a minor surgery carries risk of death. And this is true even for people at the peak of physical fitness. Certainly a person 150 lbs overweight (possibly with life-threatening co-morbs) is at an even greater risk. However, Daniel is right - choosing to not have the surgery is more risky for many than the "1 in 200" death ratio for WLS. I wish you the best of luck in your decision. Kevin
   — meilankev

August 12, 2001
The risk is the same as with ANY surgery requiring a general anesthetic, and that is less than 1%. That means you have a 99% chance of being fine; those are pretty good odds. Please bear in mind that there are more posts on this website from people who have complications. So you may be getting a skewed view. You don't see posts from the hundreds of people who had successful WLS without complications - they are too busy out living their new lives. Ask your surgeon if he has ever lost a patient during surgery or in the immediate postop week? He'll tell you straight up; they have to. I also learned that if you are going to have any complications, they will most likely be in the first 2 weeks postop. Call the nearest hospital or wherever you're having your surgery and ask when the gastric bypass surgery support group meets. Better yet, as your doctor's office, they usually know. I go to one where most of the people had my same surgeon. I asked a ton of questions, they answered them all. These folks have lost between 30 and 90 lbs, over 3-7 months, depending on their weight, and only ONE out of the entire group had any complications and that was remedied. They all spoke highly of my surgeon and my fears were lifted. I'm ready. Do this for yourself if you can; you will spare yourself a lot of the last-minute cold feet and jitters that you will otherwise have. Ask when and where, go, take your questions. You will be so GLAD you took the time to do it. Best of luck!
   — Lisa D.

August 12, 2001
Currently there is a 1 in 200 [ 0.5%] risk of death. 10 years ago it was 15%. But remember, that includes people who are unable to walk due to their weight and doctors that do not screen their patients with a variety of tests.
   — Brian G.

August 12, 2001
I watched a documentary on weight loss surgery the other night on MSNBC. Very good show, I might add. In the end, he said the national average risk of death is 1 in 1000. Which is extremely low.
   — Lori M.