Posted By: Kimber <kimber@pacbell.net> (24.41.23.232)
Date: Friday, 30 June 2000, at 11:54 a.m.

General Board

Re: How sad! (WLS info...long, long post)

In Response To: How sad! Glad it is not MY doctor! (Tracy R)

Tracy wrote:
>I would rather die on the operating table getting WLS than resign to a possible 40 more years in this body!<

My dear Tracy, Karen and others who are considering this drastic measure.

I hear the desperation in your words. Don't think that I don't understand them or don't sympathize with them. I do. I am a fat woman too who has to deal with her own health issues. I am fortunate that the only major issue for me is arthritis. Something I am dealing with the best that I can.

Also don't think that I am against weight loss. I am not. What I am against is unscrupulous so called professionals who attempt to mutilate our bodies and con us of out of our hard earned money to chase an unrealistic body image. Personally, I think WLS surgery is a crime. Its nothing but big business. (pardon the pun). I feel as strongly about this as some people do about abortion. BUT while I don't support it. I do support your right to do with your body as you see fit. All I ask is that you are open to listening to both sides of the story and really look into your relationship with food and your body before you commit yourself to this drastic procedure.

I have copied an article I wrote explaining the dangers of WLS. Please read it if you haven't already. Promise you will talk to people who have had this surgery. Not just the "honeymooners" who are in the first 1-2 years post op phase. Talk to those who this surgery has failed too. Talk to people who have had to have 2 and 3 revisions. But most importantly talk to yourself...try and think what your life will be like if you are not one of the >5% that this surgery is a total success. What would your attitude be then?

I have been in health care for over 20 years. All through that time I have seen patients go through this type of procedure. I have seen it advance through its various stages and "refinements". I remember things like the gastric bubble, gastric banding, etc. Each one was supposed to be the "cure" to obesity and they all failed or caused such problems doctors were getting sued left and right. If you have this done make sure that a board certified Bariatric surgeon does it. General surgeons are NOT qualified to preform this procedure. I don't care how many surgeries they have done. Its not the same. Trust me I know.

Well here is the article now ( yeah I know finally Kim!!)

Just have faith in yourself and my prayers are with you.

Kimber

Dangers of Weight Loss Surgery Revisited

Pop singer Carnie Wilson has brought weight loss surgery back into the limelight. With her very public on-line surgery thousands of men and women are going to be looking at this method of weight control. While I can't judge her in her decision to undergo such a drastic measure for weight loss I do feel I must share some of the real facts regarding this procedure.

I know how slick the sales pitch can be. You have to remember though that is what it is...a sales pitch. They aren't going to tell you all the facts about these surgeries. By law they have to give you informed consent but the programs that peddle these surgeries try to minimize them and claim they rarely happen. I will do my best to inform you of some of the information I have. I have gathered this from years working in the medical field and as a size rights activist. I hope it sheds some light on the subject for you.

In the US today the most common of weight-loss surgeries (WLS) are the vertical banded gastroplasty and the bypass (Roux-en-Y). Oftentimes patients are lead to believe this is some kind of band-aid surgery. Well let me tell you...it is some band-aid all right...big enough to cover half your abdomen. Sometimes they have to place indwelling catheters to drain off fluids that collect near the site as well. It hurts. Hurts a lot, but I digress.

What the Bariatric Surgeon does is he makes an incision into the upper abdomen and then forms a little pouch from the stomach. He clamps it off with a big band then over sews the site to leave new stomach anywhere in size from 1-3 oz depending on his technique. In a bypass he then disconnects most of the small bowel. He leaves this just "floating" and connects the larger portion of the intestine to the pouch he has created. The patient is then closed with sutures or skin staples.

Now...lets look at the obvious. First of all...going under anesthesia and having major surgery is a risk all in it's self and can kill anyone fat or thin. Secondly, since it is commonly believed that all obese people have such things as hypertension, diabetes and respiratory problems therefore the risk would be increased.

Now the nature of the surgery is to take two perfectly good organs, the stomach and small intestine and mutilate them to the point of rendering them useless. The thing is they perform a very important role in digestion. The stomach breaks down the food into nutrients and readies them for the bowel for absorption. Most of absorption occurs in the small intestine. Interrupting this can lead to malnutrition and vitamin deficiency. A list of common complications would include the following problems:

Erosion of staples in the incision
Spilling of gastric contents into the abdomen
Peritonitis (a life threatening infection in the abdomen)
Malnutrition
Vitamin B 12 and Iron deficiencies
Nausea and Vomiting
Dehydration
Blood Clots (Pulmonary Embolism)

That is just in the post op phase. Add long term effects such as:
Dumping Syndrome (violent vomiting and diarrhea)
Gallstones
Fatigue
Foul body odor and flatus
Sepsis
Septic Arthritis
Osteoporosis
Anemia
Metabolic bone disease
Reduced life span. (The average life span for a WLS patient is 55 yrs)
Childbearing is not recommenced
Hair loss and skin problems

Often times there has to be second and third stage surgeries to correct problems associated with the primary surgery this includes reversal of the original surgery if at all possible. What do you get for your trouble? A magic cure? No. On average significant weight loss is only achieved in 30% of the patients. After 5 years 75% of those patients regain the weight and often opt for more drastic surgery. Who takes the blame for this? Not the surgeon, not the procedure, it’s the patient who has to bear the brunt of failure. The average weight loss is only 20-30% of the before surgery body weight. So for a 300 pound patient you risk your life to lose 60-90 pounds in the first year before you start your regain. Wow still over 200 pounds...still fat in this country.

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