Weight Loss Surgery Has Significant Risks

Weight loss surgery may seem like a quick fix to shed pounds and reduce your chances of associated health risks, especially in extreme cases such as morbid obesity.

However, bariatric surgery is major surgery, and with it comes hefty risks.

This is true for both types of bariatric surgery; gastric banding and the more invasive gastric bypass.

Gastric banding consists of surgically inserting a band around the top section of your stomach, and cinching it into a small pouch. While gastric banding is at least reversible, the complications are often so debilitating that patients opt to have the bands removed completely.

In gastric bypass, a section of your small intestine is typically removed and your stomach is reconnected further down your intestine, bypassing the duodenum, hence the name "gastric bypass."

Your duodenum — that first section of your small intestine — is responsible for the majority of nutrient absorption. Hence, if you make it through the surgery, malnutrition is a common concern after this type of surgery.

All surgeries have inherent risks, but bariatric surgeries seem to have an especially high ratio of complications. In fact, nearly 50 percent of patients who undergo weight loss surgery experience major complications, including:

·         Infection

·         Malnutrition

·         Liver failure, kidney stones, bowel and gallbladder problems

·         Blackouts

Beware.