Safety of Weight-Loss Surgery Improves

Some people who have weight issues have been hesitant to undergo weight-loss surgery out of safety concerns. The potential hazards of performing surgery on obese patients, however, appear to have been exaggerated.

A study out of Duke University Medical Center looked at the results of studies of nearly 60,000 such surgeries and found that -- over time -- improved surgical techniques and better screening of people who want bariatric surgery has made the procedure as safe as other surgeries.

"The complication and mortality rates are even lower than have been reported in the past," says Eric J. DeMaria, MD, vice chair of the department of surgery at Duke, who performed the analysis.

DeMaria reviewed data from the Bariatric Surgery Centers of Excellence program, which tracks results of many of the 200,000 weight-loss surgeries in the U.S. every year.  

"We believe the Bariatric Surgery Centers of Excellence program is one reason why there is an even further reduction in mortality being observed," DeMaria added.

DeMaria found that about 10 percent of patients have complications, usually nausea and vomiting. Perhaps most surprising was the finding that deaths due to surgery amounted to less than one percent. That percentage is in line with what you would see in a review of all surgery. Out of the 57,918 patients tracked, 78 deaths were reported.

This is good news for people considering weight-loss surgery, which appears to be far safer than some people might believe.