1 in 50 Gastric Bypass Patients Die Within 1 Month, is This True?

Question

This statistic is scary, if it's true, and please explain why. According to one surgeon, he says he has a 1 in 300 death rate, but that's during surgery.

Lloyd Stegemann, MD, FASMBS · Answer

Weight loss surgery has come a long way since it's introduction in the 1960's.  In fact according to a government report released in 2010, weight loss surgery has never been safer!  This is impressive when you consider that weight loss surgery patients can be some of the unhealthiest patients prior to their surgery and is a testament to improvements in surgical technique, instrumentation, and patient care. 

	In general, the risk of dying within 30 days after a gastric bypass nationally is in the range of 0.2-0.5%.  When discussing mortality rates, however, there are lots of things that the surgeon will take into consideration.  For example, I recently saw a 58 year old patient who is on dialysis and has had two heart attacks in the past.  Obviously this patient's risk of dying after surgery is higher than 0.2%.  Once you have been evaluated by a weight loss surgeon, they will be able to give you their opinion of what YOUR mortality rate is likely to be.

	Keep in mind that the 0.2-0.5% mortality rate I mentioned above is a NATIONAL average so it is important to ask the surgeon you see what is their INDIVIDUAL mortality rate.  If it much higher than the national average then you may want to seek out a second opinion!

David Buchin, MD · Answer

The mortality rate from gastric bypass surgery 10 years ago was approximately 1 in 200. Currently the national mortality from bariatric surgery is approximately 1 in 1000. Our laparoscopic techniques have improved as well as the instruments that we use. There have been multiple studies which have shown that the risks of staying morbidly obese are much greater than the risks of surgery.  I personally have never had anyone die from any bariatric procedure.

Shawn Garber, MD, FACS, FASMBS · Answer

That is completely false.  The national mortality rate for gastric bypass is 0.5%.  The risks of staying morbidly obese and dying is much greater than the risk of dying from gastric bypass surgery.

1 in 50 Gastric Bypass Patients Die Within 1 Month, is This True?

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1 in 50 Gastric Bypass Patients Die Within 1 Month, is This True?

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