Nearly 15 million people in the U.S. are morbidly obese. And as part of our commitment to transforming healthcare, the Northside Hospital is dedicated to solving this medical condition. We want to do everything we can to help as many community members as possible beat this life-threatening disease for good.
While exercise and eating right are the best ways to lose weight, we know this doesn’t always work for individuals who are morbidly obese. In fact, this method is less than 5% successful for morbidly obese individuals. This is why bariatric surgery exists—to provide a safe, successful long-term way to help individuals lose weight and regain their health and overall quality of life.
As with any surgery, there are always risks. The risks of bariatric surgery are low. In the past few years, the safety of bariatric surgery has made rapid progress. In fact, studies show that bariatric procedures are as safe as any medical procedure available.
While complications can occur, the rate is less than 1%. Even the risk of death from bariatric surgery is extremely low at about 0.13%.
With these small risks come great rewards from this life-changing surgery. Bariatric surgery can improve or resolve more than 30 obesity-related conditions, including:
With counseling, support group attendance, exercise, a healthy diet and dedication to other physician-prescribed changes, patients will see remarkable changes in their lives and health. Typically, patients have maximum weight loss within one to two years after surgery and maintain a substantial weight loss, with improvements in obesity-related conditions, for years afterward.
Other successful measures include:
Long-term studies show that up to 10–14 years after surgery, patients maintained:7,8
We are excited to help you start your weight loss journey to healthier living. To start the conversation, please give us a call at one of the following locations:
Christou, N.V., et al. Surgery Decreases Long-term Mortality, Morbidity and Health Care Use in Morbidly Obese Patients. Annals of Surgery. 2004;240: 416–424.
2http://asmbs.org/benefits-of-bariatric-surgery/
3Buchwald, H., et al. Weight and Type 2 Diabetes after Bariatric Surgery: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. American Journal of Medicine. 2009; 122(3): 205–206.
4Dixon, J.B., et al. Adjustable Gastric Banding and Conventional Therapy for Type 2 Diabetes. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2008; 299(3): 316–323.
5Torquati, A., et al. Effect of Gastric Bypass Operation on Framingham and Actual Risk of Cardiovascular Events in Class II to III Obesity. Journal of the American College of Surgeons. 2007; 204(5).
6Wittgrove, A.C., et al. Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass, Roux-en-Y: Technique and Results in 75 Patients With 3–30 Months Follow-up. Obesity Surgery. 1996; 6: 500–504.
7Pories, W.J., et al. Who Would Have Thought It: An Operation Proves to Be the Most Effective Therapy for Adult-Onset Diabetes Mellitus. Annals of Surgery. 1995; 222(3): 339–352.
8Sjöström, L., et al. Lifestyle, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Risk Factors 10 Years after Bariatric Surgery. New England Journal of Medicine. 2004; 351: 2683–2693.
