Benefits and Risks of Gastric
Bypass : Health Tip
February 9, 2005
By Nancyann Rella
Though it continues to grow in popularity among the
severely obese, gastric bypass surgery should not be
taken lightly.
Anyone thinking about this surgery should understand
what the operation involves. Patients and physicians
should carefully weigh these benefits and risks, suggested
by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive
and Kidney Diseases:
Benefits
Right after surgery, most patients lose
weight quickly and continue to lose it for 18 to
24 months after the procedure, although most patients
regain 5 percent to 10 percent of the weight they lost.
Surgery improves most obesity-related conditions,
such as diabetes.
Risks
Up to 20 percent of patients who have weight-loss
surgery require follow-up operations to correct complications.
Abdominal hernia once was the most common complication
requiring follow-up surgery, but laparoscopic techniques
seem to have solved this problem.
Some obese patients who have had weight-loss surgery
develop gallstones. During rapid or substantial weight
loss, a person's risk of developing gallstones increases.
Taking supplemental bile salts for the first six months
after surgery can prevent them from forming.
Nearly 30 percent of patients who have weight-loss
surgery develop nutritional deficiencies such as anemia,
osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease. These deficiencies
can be avoided with the proper vitamins and minerals.
Women of childbearing age should avoid pregnancy until
their weight becomes stable.
Rapid weight loss and nutritional deficiencies can harm
a developing fetus.
Source:www.forbes.com
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