The Unexpected

One criticism of this site has been that almost all the comments about weight loss surgery are always so happy and positive and supportive all the time. Of course, there always IS that chance that something will go wrong during surgery, but this is true of ANY surgery — not just bariatric surgery. We are correctly reassured, however, that the risk of death from NOT having surgery is statistically much higher than the risk of dying from the surgery, especially when significant co-morbidities are involved.

That having been said, it is useful to take at least a quick look at some of the painful “exceptions” to the otherwise happy story of weight loss surgery. This page is dedicated to those friends and loved ones very close to us here who have suffered from the unexpected.

Click here to contribute your story.

Myself
Was it worth it? Following WLS I spent 9 months in the hospital and 3 months in rehab due to overwhelming complications. I am now active, at or near goal weight and an advocate for making sure pre-ops understand that death is not the only complication of WLS. (Self)
Contributed by Cheryl LaVergne — Apr 25, 2004

Surgery complications
(Self)
Contributed by Gar Westlake — Apr 25, 2004

A Friend
(Co-patient)
Contributed by Robert Lamb — Apr 25, 2004

Ginger
Best friend mourns death but wishes to help others. In addition to asking for emotional support for the patient's family and for myself, I am telling this story to alert people as to how dangerous untreated sleep apnea is. (Best Friend)
Contributed by Susan Hackett — Oct 1, 2002

Janice
Friend and co-worker My friend Janice died 10 days postop.
Contributed by Tammy England — Oct 1, 2002