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Gastric Bypass Study Yields Big Health Benefits After Patients' Surgery, Diabetes, Cholesterol, Hypertension Improve
Gastric Bypass Study Yields Big Health Benefits After Patients' Surgery, Diabetes, Cholesterol, Hypertension Improve -- Posted by Gumbo on 10-23-04 05:52
Gastric Bypass Study Yields Big Health Benefits After Patients' Surgery,
Diabetes, Cholesterol, Hypertension Improve
Extremely obese people who have weight-loss surgeries experience dramatic
improvements in their health, a study in today's Journal of the American
Medical Association reports.
Seventy percent to 80% of the cases of diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea
and high cholesterol were eliminated or improved in patients who had gastric
bypass, gastric banding and other bariatric operations. This news comes
after two studies last week showed that patients who have gastric bypass
live longer than similarly obese patients who don't have the surgery.
About 140,640 bariatric surgeries will be done this year, according to the
American Society for Bariatric Surgery.
Gastric bypass creates a much smaller stomach and rearranges the small
intestine. It's performed on people who are morbidly obese, which is 100 or
more pounds over a healthy weight. Average cost is $26,000.
Supporters say the surgery saves lives because excess weight increases the
risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other illnesses. Critics say the
risks of the surgery, including malnutrition and other medical problems, far
outweigh the benefits.
For the latest study, researchers did a statistical analysis of 136 studies
worldwide that included 22,094 weight-loss surgery patients. The findings:
* Patients lost an average of 61% of their excess body weight.
* Diabetes was eliminated or eased in 86% of patients; hypertension, 78.5%;
obstructive sleep apnea, 85.7%. High cholesterol decreased in 70% of
patients.
* One in 200 died in the month after the operation. (One of last week's
studies suggested that one in 50 die within 30 days after gastric bypass.)
''There are 8 million to 10 million people who are morbidly obese in this
country, and we're operating on only about 1% to 2% of them,'' says lead
author Henry Buchwald, a professor of surgery at the University of Minnesota
School of Medicine. That ''wouldn't be tolerated if it was any other
illness.''
Resolution of the diabetes often occurred days after the bariatric surgery,
before weight loss was achieved. This may be a result of changes in hormones
brought on by the surgery, some of which are related to hunger, the
researchers say. The study was paid for by a Johnson & Johnson Co.
subsidiary that markets surgical instruments for the operations.
Dawn Jackson Blatner, a registered dietitian at Northwestern Memorial
Hospital Wellness Institute in Chicago, says gastric bypass should be a
''last resort'' after patients have exhausted all other options. But on the
other hand, she says, ''I've had patients lose 100 pounds just by cutting
calories and exercising.''
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