The increasing numbers of obese people have driven up the rates for weight-loss surgeries.
Soaring Weight-Loss Operation Statistics:
Researchers expressed their concerns over the operations being performed on children and teenagers and the increasing number of doctors encouraging their patients to pack on more pounds, so they could qualify for the surgery. Researchers also noted one of the biggest issues surrounded the number of doctors who were not properly trained and performing the surgeries.
Because of the high risks and increased costs, some insurers made the decision to stop covering the operations. The average cost of the surgery is $30,000, however that cost could rise if serious complications surfaced during the surgery.
Also, due to the drastic changes in the digestive system, most patients required heavy counseling on how to eat properly and which vitamins to take in order to avoid malnutrition or gaining the weight back.
Reported Risks of the Surgery:
Research showed that almost 30 percent of the people who had undergone the surgery experienced nutritional deficiencies that led to health conditions such as anemia and bone loss.
Participants of a study included 66,000 obese people, 3,328 of that number had bariatric surgery during the years of 1987 to 2001. The study revealed that 30 days following the surgery, the death rate reached 1.9 percent.
It was also discovered that those who did survive the surgery lived longer than the severely obese people who did not have the surgery.
Experts stated that most people believed the gastric bypass surgery was the solution to their weight-loss problems, however doctors warned patients who did not practice self-control that they would gain back all the weight in the next 20 years.
New York Times May 4, 2004
As obesity threatens to become the nation's number one root cause of preventable deaths, you will see many more expensive and dangerous drug and surgical "solutions."
The surgery has become big business, and medical centers have been scrambling to start programs.
Although the surgery is supposed to be limited to people who are 100 pounds or more overweight, already we are seeing some doctors actually encouraging obese patients who were not heavy enough to gain more weight so they would qualify to have the surgery done.
If this isn't distorted and perverted "health" care, then what is?
Additionally, this surgery is fraught with potential complications, as we already know that it weakens bones of those who had it done.
Like any surgery, complications are common including ones like the one reported last week when a man's stomach spilled out after his surgical staples were removed.
Does it really make sense to pay $30,000 for an operation that is only necessary because people refuse to change their lifestyle and address the underlying causes of obesity, and undergo a surgery that is fraught with complications?
Let's hope that this doesn't progress to the same ridiculous level that cardiac bypass surgery has, as this is an equally ridiculous waste of medical resources for a condition that is far more effectively and safely treated with lifestyle and nutritional modifications.
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