The Trouble with Gastric Bypass Surgery 10-16-08

by: Joanne Waldron & Dr. Beth Dupree

Many extremely obese people these days, under the mistaken belief that it will be the answer to their health problems, are flocking to get gastric bypass surgery. Now this treatment option may be pushed on even more people. A study published in The American Journal of Managed Care reports that bariatric surgery can "pay for itself" by diminishing the number of insurance claims filed by people who are grossly overweight.

Gastric Bypass Surgery Is No Picnic

However, gastric bypass surgery has many associated risks. The risks, according to a Mayo Clinic article, include death, blood clots in the legs, leaking at the staple lines in the stomach, incision hernia, narrowing of the opening between the stomach and small intestine, dumping syndrome, iron deficiency anemia, vitamin B-12 deficiency, vitamin D deficiency, dehydration, gallstones, bleeding stomach ulcers, intolerance to certain foods, kidney stones, low blood sugar, body aches, fatigue (like when one has the flu), feeling cold, dry skin, hair thinning and hair loss, and mood changes. Of course, there are also the same risks that go along with any surgery, like bleeding, infections, and adverse reactions to the anesthesia. The patient can never drink carbonated liquids again without the risk of extreme pain , hospitalization and death. Has anyone every gotten overweight without drinking soda? Most patients have to prove they have tried at least 5 diet programs unsuccessfully, that they are able to control their eating and lose weight on their own and exercise. If you can control your eating and exercise; why would you need gastric bypass surgery? That doesn't exactly sound like a picnic, no pun intended.

Morbidly Obese Patients are Lied To.

When a morbidly obese person sees a doctor they are treated 1 of 3 ways: there are either never told anything about weight loss and the subject is never brought up, or they are told if they would just lose weight everything in their lives would be better. Patients are told: All your arthritis will go away (medically impossible, in fact, it often gets worse with weight loss), you diabetes will go away, (this is sometimes true because now the person is permanently fasting), your cholesterol and blood pressure will go down ( rarely does) and much more.

Why lie, You Ask? Money! Your primary care Physician gets a referral fee or kickback for every patient they refer; who goes through with the surgery. Not to mention the dietitians, plastic surgeons, homecare companies, nursing, internists, infectious disease specialists, endocrinologists, and more. You can guarantee work for most of the medial field, in referrals, for each patient. For what? Statistically speaking the average surgical patient losses 30% of their weight or an average of 75 Lbs! If you do the math for all the bills until it's over, every pound of weight lost equals the price of gold or higher. Is it really worth it? Anyone can lose 75lbs on their own. In fact most of these patients have to get down to under 400 lbs to have the surgery. Many do not understand and think like plastic surgery they will wake up skinny. Surgery will not remove the underlying medical or psychological reasons the person got overweight in the first place.

Will Surgery Save Insurance Companies Money?

Unfortunately, there is even more reason to be concerned about gastric bypass surgery. Dr. Douglass warns in an article that the funding for the study that purports that this surgery will save insurance companies money came from a company known as Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., which is a major manufacturer of bariatric surgical instruments. Additionally, Dr. Douglass points out that Dr. Scott Shikora, a co-author of the study, is the president of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. It's easy to see that the members of this group would clearly benefit if insurance providers would decide that they could save money if more patients were approved for this course of treatment.

Up to Five Percent Die Within a Year of Surgery

The sad truth of the matter is that, according to Dr. Douglass, up to five percent of the patients who undergo this course of treatment are dead within a year. (That's certainly one way to trim down future medical costs.) While Dr. Douglass believes that surgery should always be a last resort, many other doctors believe that the current requirement by insurance companies that people first try to lose weight by a six-month doctor-supervised weight loss program is unreasonable. Says Douglass: "People like Shikora would prefer that patients go right from the dining room table to his operating table." While natural health advocates might not agree with Dr. Douglass on all of the issues, most certainly appreciate his acerbic wit. Hmmm... was the guy who said that "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach" a bariatric surgeon?

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