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Determining whether it’s the right time to have weight-loss
surgery requires the consideration of several factors. Typically, a person who
is one-hundred, or more, pounds over their ideal weight and has tried various
lifestyle adjustments in order to lose the weight, namely employing exercise
and proper nutrition, is considered to be a candidate for bariatric surgery.
It is, however, difficult to determine at what point you are
losing the battle and the risk of surgery is greater than the risk of
continuing with your current diet regimen. It is key to consider both the risks
of both longstanding obesity and those of medical intervention and choose the
option that has fewer inherent risks and provide a higher quality of life.
First, let’s have a look at the exhaustive list of health
risks associated with having weight-loss surgery according to Mayo Clinic. Keep
in mind that most of the risks associated with these surgical procedures are
common to most any kind of surgery, and that the longer-term risks are most
often associated with a failure to follow the post-surgical dietary guidelines
prescribed by the patients’ surgeons and nutritionists, a lifestyle commitment
whose importance is emphasized prior to electing for surgery.
As with any
major surgery, gastric bypass and other weight-loss surgeries pose potential
health risks, both in the short term and long term.
Risks associated
with the surgical procedure can include:
·
Excessive
bleeding
·
Infection
·
Adverse
reactions to anesthesia
·
Blood clots
·
Lung or
breathing problems
·
Leaks in your
gastrointestinal system
· Death (rare)
Longer term
risks and complications of weight-loss surgery vary depending on the type of
surgery. They can include:
·
Bowel
obstruction
·
Dumping
syndrome, causing diarrhea, nausea or vomiting
·
Gallstones
·
Hernias
·
Low blood sugar
(hypoglycemia)
·
Malnutrition
·
Stomach perforation
·
Ulcers
·
Vomiting
·
Death (rare)
While many of these potential complications
are due to the patient’s cooperation in terms of diet and lifestyle, they also
depend on the experience and skill of the operating surgeon. You should always
find out how many surgeries a doctor has performed, and maybe interview a
couple of his or her former patients before advancing to the operating room.
Second, let’s examine some of the many health
risks associated with obesity (>30 BMI) and morbid obesity (>40 BMI)
according to Mayo Clinic:
If you're obese,
you're more likely to develop a number of potentially serious health problems,
including:
·
High
triglycerides and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol
·
Type 2 diabetes
·
High blood
pressure
·
Metabolic syndrome
— a combination of high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high triglycerides
and low HDL cholesterol
·
Heart disease
·
Stroke
·
Cancer,
including cancer of the uterus, cervix, endometrium, ovaries, breast, colon,
rectum, esophagus, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, kidney and prostate
·
Breathing
disorders, including sleep apnea, a potentially serious sleep disorder in which
breathing repeatedly stops and starts
·
Gallbladder
disease
·
Gynecologic
problems, such as infertility and irregular periods
·
Erectile dysfunction
and sexual health issues
·
Nonalcoholic
fatty liver disease, a condition in which fat builds up in the liver and can
cause inflammation or scarring
·
Osteoarthritis
·
Skin
conditions, including poor wound healing
Quality of life
When you're
obese, your overall quality of life may be lower, too. You may not be able to
do things you'd normally enjoy as easily as you'd like, such as participating
in enjoyable activities. You may avoid public places. Obese people may even
encounter discrimination.
Other weight-related
issues that may affect your quality of life include:
·
Depression
·
Disability
·
Sexual problems
·
Shame and guilt
·
Social
isolation
·
Lower work
achievement
As you may surmise, the side effects of being chronically obese are vast and severely affect peoples' quality of life. Some of the more complicated conditions have been medically proven to be reversed
through bariatric
weight-loss surgeries including diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and
sleep apnea. This being the case, people need to realize that every month that
goes by without doing something to reverse this condition is another month of
letting these risk factors settle in more fully as likely outcomes rather than
mere possibilities.
I require that patients do everything they can
in terms of adjusting their lives to include healthy habits prior to going the
surgical route. For many people, this just doesn’t work after even the most
painstaking efforts. I suppose I could summarize my outlook as this:
Weight loss surgery is only justifiable when
the risk to do nothing is greater than the risk to have surgery. At that point,
however, it seems not only justifiable but crucial.
Sources:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/bariatric-surgery/basics/risks/prc-20019138
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obesity/basics/complications/con-20014834