07-23-2006
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 Officials Cite Obesity Surgery Complications
Quote:
WASHINGTON, July 23 Four of every 10 patients who undergo weight-loss surgery develop complications within six months, the federal government said today.
The number of such surgical procedures has been rising rapidly, along with the incidence of obesity, which now afflicts about 30 percent of adults in the United States, health officials said.
Obesity surgery is helping thousands of Americans lose weight and reduce the risk of diabetes and other life-threatening diseases, said Dr. Carolyn M. Clancy, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a unit of the Public Health Service. But she added, This study shows how important it is for patients to consider the potential complications.
Many of the complications were so serious that patients were readmitted to hospitals or visited hospital emergency rooms within six months.
In a procedure known as bariatric surgery, doctors reduce the number of calories that a person can consume and absorb. One of the more common techniques restricts the size of the stomach and the length of the intestine, where nutrients are absorbed.
Federal researchers found that complications from obesity surgery significantly increased costs.
Over all, said William E. Encinosa, an economist at the health research agency, medical costs averaged $29,921 for obesity surgery and six months of follow-up care. For patients who experienced complications, the costs averaged $36,542. And for those with complications that required readmission to a hospital, the average costs were $65,031.
Prior studies found that 10 percent to 20 percent of patients had complications while they were in the hospital. In the new study, Mr. Encinosa said, federal researchers found that 39.6 percent of patients had complications within 180 days of surgery.
The most common complications included vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal hernias, infections, pneumonia and respiratory failure, as well as the leaking of gastric juices caused by imperfect surgical connections between the stomach and the intestines.
| The entire article is here ........ http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/he...gewanted=print |
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