CBS News Report 10/19/05
Not the best news to read.
Drew
Study: Obesity Surgery Risky
CHICAGO, Oct. 18, 2005
(AP) A new study shows that the chances of dying within a year after obesity
surgery are higher than previously thought, even among people in their 30s
and 40s.
The chances of dying within a year after obesity surgery are much higher
than previously thought, even among people in their 30s and 40s, a study of
more than 16,000 Medicare patients found.
Some previous studies of people in their 30s to their 50s - the most common
ages for obesity surgery - found death rates well under 1 percent. But among
35- to 44-year-olds in the Medicare study, more than 5 percent of men and
nearly 3 percent of women were dead within a year, and slightly higher rates
were seen in patients 45 to 54.
Among patients 65 to 74, nearly 13 percent of men and about 6 percent of
women died. In patients 75 and older, half of the men and 40 percent of the
women died.
“The risk of death is much higher than has been reported,” said University
of Washington surgeon Dr. David Flum, the Medicare study’s lead author.
“It’s a reality check for those patients who are considering these
operations.”
The study involved 16,155 Medicare patients who underwent obesity surgery
between 1997 and 2002. It was published in Wednesday’s Journal of the
American Medical Association.
The study lumped together all deaths, with no breakdown on the causes. But
obesity surgery’s life-threatening complications can include malnutrition,
infection and bowel and gallbladder problems. Also, surgery in general can
be a deadly shock to the system, especially in older patients.
Dr. Neil Hutcher, president of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery,
said that Medicare patients are probably sicker than the general U.S.
population and that complication rates have declined as surgeons’ expertise
has increased.
But Flum said some previous research on the safety of obesity surgery
consisted of “reports from the best surgeons reporting their best results,”
while the new study is more of a real-world look.
The American Society for Bariatric Surgery predicts obesity surgery will be
performed more than 150,000 times this year in the United States. That is
more than 10 times the number in 1998, according to a second JAMA study. The
increase parallels a surge in the share of American adults who are at least
100 pounds overweight, from about 1 in 200 in 1986 to 1 in 50 in 2000, that
study said.
Obesity surgery is usually reserved for “morbidly” obese people more than
100 pounds overweight. These patients often have life-threatening medical
problems brought on by their girth, including heart trouble, diabetes and
breathing difficulties - problems that surgery can sometimes resolve but
which can also make the operation riskier.
Flum said the new study suggests that in many cases, obesity surgery may not
be right for an older person “who already has the burden of 60 years of
obesity on their heart” and other organs.
Medicare covers obesity surgery if it is recommended to treat related
conditions such as diabetes and heart problems. The government is
considering whether to cover surgery to treat obesity alone.
Medicare is for younger Americans with disabilities and for patients 65 and
older. Flum said most of the patients he studied were under 65 and probably
qualified for Medicare because of obesity-related ills, including heart and
joint problems.
There are several types of obesity surgery, but the most common one in the
United States, gastric bypass, involves creating an egg-size pouch in the
upper stomach and attaching it to a section of intestine. That reduces the
amount of food patients can eat and results in less food being absorbed.
Flum’s study lumped together data on the different operations.
Researchers said one reason men may have higher post-surgery death rates is
that they tend to wait longer than women to seek medical help and may be
sicker when the operation is performed.
A third JAMA study cast doubt on whether obesity surgery reduces health-care
costs. It found that among patients followed for about three years, an
average of 8 percent were hospitalized before surgery, mostly for
obesity-related complications, compared with 20 percent a year afterward,
mostly for surgery-related complications.
That study’s lead author, Dr. David Zingmond of the University of California
at Los Angeles, said some people mistakenly view obesity surgery as a
cosmetic procedure and “may greatly discount the chances that they’re going
to have problems after surgery.”
Hutcher said patients should seek experienced surgeons who meet his group’s
guidelines. Those include thoroughly evaluating patients before and after
surgery and giving them long-term follow-up care.
Most patients “will receive a good outcome. A good outcome does not mean
there’s no risk for complications or mortality,” Hutcher said. But he said
the surgery is riskier than, say, a tonsil removal. And “these patients are
very sick,” he said.
August 8th, 2007 at 1:35 am
Well they didnt’ interview me. I’m nearly two years out and doing great.
Nona
LAP RnY 12/5/3
Abdominoplasty 9/7/05
Total gone: 110lbs
“Fuquay, James” <james.fuquay@…
Not the best news to read.
Drew
Study: Obesity Surgery Risky
CHICAGO, Oct. 18, 2005
(AP) A new study shows that the chances of dying within a year after obesity
surgery are higher than previously thought, even among people in their 30s
and 40s.
The chances of dying within a year after obesity surgery are much higher
than previously thought, even among people in their 30s and 40s, a study of
more than 16,000 Medicare patients found.
Some previous studies of people in their 30s to their 50s - the most common
ages for obesity surgery - found death rates well under 1 percent. But among
35- to 44-year-olds in the Medicare study, more than 5 percent of men and
nearly 3 percent of women were dead within a year, and slightly higher rates
were seen in patients 45 to 54.
Among patients 65 to 74, nearly 13 percent of men and about 6 percent of
women died. In patients 75 and older, half of the men and 40 percent of the
women died.
“The risk of death is much higher than has been reported,” said University
of Washington surgeon Dr. David Flum, the Medicare study’s lead author.
“It’s a reality check for those patients who are considering these
operations.”
The study involved 16,155 Medicare patients who underwent obesity surgery
between 1997 and 2002. It was published in Wednesday’s Journal of the
American Medical Association.
The study lumped together all deaths, with no breakdown on the causes. But
obesity surgery’s life-threatening complications can include malnutrition,
infection and bowel and gallbladder problems. Also, surgery in general can
be a deadly shock to the system, especially in older patients.
Dr. Neil Hutcher, president of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery,
said that Medicare patients are probably sicker than the general U.S.
population and that complication rates have declined as surgeons’ expertise
has increased.
But Flum said some previous research on the safety of obesity surgery
consisted of “reports from the best surgeons reporting their best results,”
while the new study is more of a real-world look.
The American Society for Bariatric Surgery predicts obesity surgery will be
performed more than 150,000 times this year in the United States. That is
more than 10 times the number in 1998, according to a second JAMA study. The
increase parallels a surge in the share of American adults who are at least
100 pounds overweight, from about 1 in 200 in 1986 to 1 in 50 in 2000, that
study said.
Obesity surgery is usually reserved for “morbidly” obese people more than
100 pounds overweight. These patients often have life-threatening medical
problems brought on by their girth, including heart trouble, diabetes and
breathing difficulties - problems that surgery can sometimes resolve but
which can also make the operation riskier.
Flum said the new study suggests that in many cases, obesity surgery may not
be right for an older person “who already has the burden of 60 years of
obesity on their heart” and other organs.
Medicare covers obesity surgery if it is recommended to treat related
conditions such as diabetes and heart problems. The government is
considering whether to cover surgery to treat obesity alone.
Medicare is for younger Americans with disabilities and for patients 65 and
older. Flum said most of the patients he studied were under 65 and probably
qualified for Medicare because of obesity-related ills, including heart and
joint problems.
There are several types of obesity surgery, but the most common one in the
United States, gastric bypass, involves creating an egg-size pouch in the
upper stomach and attaching it to a section of intestine. That reduces the
amount of food patients can eat and results in less food being absorbed.
Flum’s study lumped together data on the different operations.
Researchers said one reason men may have higher post-surgery death rates is
that they tend to wait longer than women to seek medical help and may be
sicker when the operation is performed.
A third JAMA study cast doubt on whether obesity surgery reduces health-care
costs. It found that among patients followed for about three years, an
average of 8 percent were hospitalized before surgery, mostly for
obesity-related complications, compared with 20 percent a year afterward,
mostly for surgery-related complications.
That study’s lead author, Dr. David Zingmond of the University of California
at Los Angeles, said some people mistakenly view obesity surgery as a
cosmetic procedure and “may greatly discount the chances that they’re going
to have problems after surgery.”
Hutcher said patients should seek experienced surgeons who meet his group’s
guidelines. Those include thoroughly evaluating patients before and after
surgery and giving them long-term follow-up care.
Most patients “will receive a good outcome. A good outcome does not mean
there’s no risk for complications or mortality,” Hutcher said. But he said
the surgery is riskier than, say, a tonsil removal. And “these patients are
very sick,” he said.
August 8th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Nona Miller wrote:
Well they didnt’ interview me.
I’m nearly two years out and doing great.
“new study shows that the chances of dying within a year after
obesity surgery are higher than previously thought.”
Heck, I’m with you! I was DYING preop!
Haze
RNY 6/14/04
360-190