Bariatric surgery is one of the few antiobesity approaches that provide significant, sustained weight loss for morbidly obese patients (those with a body mass index of 40 kg/m2 or higher), with additional improvement in obesity-related comorbidities such as diabetes and heart disease.
The Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery, for example, yields greater, more sustained weight loss compared with no surgery. The results of a study published in JAMA Surgery last year found that, at a 10-year follow-up, more than 1500 patients who underwent RYGB lost an average 21% more of their baseline weight compared with nonsurgical matches.
Bariatric procedures do carry risks. Approximately 2% of gastric bypass procedures leak, with similar rates regardless of whether patients received RYGB or a gastric sleeve procedure. And the chances for mortality in the perioperative period are not inconsequential.
Medscape Reader Polls © 2017
Cite this: Do You Recommend Bariatric Surgery to Your Obese Patients? - Medscape - Jun 29, 2017.
Comments