Question:
I asked my surgeon how many wls he has done and he said thousands and I asked how

many deaths, he said 5, 2 were from heart palputations, 2 were not wls related and 1 they were not sure of. Is this good odds?    — Lisa W. (posted on June 8, 2002)

June 8, 2002
It depends on how many "thousands" of patients he has had. But, for example, if he's had 3000 patients and only lost 5 of them, then his "mortality rate" is 1 in 600. That's better than the average that is usually quoted for WLS (1 in 200). My surgeon had performed 2000 surgeries, and he has lost 4 (1 in 500). I felt comfortable with those odds, especially since I'm young and healthy.
   — Kristie B.

June 8, 2002
hi, well first off, your surgeon is experienced, so that is a major PLUS!! My surgeon had performed about 500 LAP surgeries, but none had died, I am also 22, so felt very confident, i am 1 week post-op. Your profile says you are 39? so you are still young as well. I do not know your co-morbs, but those odds really aren't bad. say he did 3000 surgeries, those odds are .2%, which is much lower than the national average for WLS, which is about 1/2-1%. So i wouldn't worry too much about this particular surgeon, he sounds good to me! it is hard to find a WLS surgeon who has that much experience, because it is such a new surgery. goodluck.
   — Lezlie Y.

June 8, 2002
I would not feel comfortable with the answer of "thousands". I would demand an exact number. The word "thousands" could mean any number. What if it is just over 1,000. The odds change... be careful.
   — juliehedges