bariatric surgery safety

Question
My husband wants the gastric bypass surgery. One dr says the surgeries work and another one says they are terrible and they cause you to loose too much and you slowly starve yourself. These were both MD's. Who is right?

Answer
Joyce,

My opinion is that the MD who called bariatric surgery terrible has really not done a good job of looking at surgery. Bariatric surgery is the only treatment for obesity approved by Medicare (which will not cover medications and barely covers dietary counseling) BECAUSE it is so safe and effective. They didn't just add it recently either - they have covered it for over a decade now.

My guidance is always to find an established program (ideally in business doing bariatric surgery for over 5 years) with full services including support groups, a dietitian, etc to help you before and after surgery. It is not for everyone, but generally speaking it is a very good (and safe) treatment. Look for a program that is a Center of Excellence or has MBSAQIP approval (https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/mbsaqip)  -those are the best ones as they have been independently evaluated and certified. MBSAQIP recently replaced Centers of Excellence, so there are fewer of those programs as it's a new certification.

In Health
Dr Jacques

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