sleeve surgery

Question
Hi,

Am 24 yrs old and weight 91 kg ang my height is 158cms . so i have a BMI of 36.5 . I have planned to go through this sleeve bariatric surgery . I am now very much afraid after reading the consequences like hair loss , ulcers etc, vomitting. Also i read tat gall bladder stones might occur. All these factors make me rethink about my decision . Kindly advice. I have my surgery scheduled on 12-Dec-2013.

Answer
Preethi,
I apologize for my slow reply, and I understand your concerns.  As a young woman, you are trying to prevent the future onset of severe disease with the help of surgical therapy (Sleeve), but it reads as if you don't have serious medical problems right now.  Your perspective makes the potential ill effects of surgery seem large.

I'm not able to give you medical advice over the internet, but I can give you a few general thoughts to consider:
-problems certainly can happen after a Sleeve (or any surgery) but experienced docs help get their patients moved through to a full recovery
-for a young woman like yourself, there is the realistic possibility of achieving a lower healthy weight before the metabolic obesity disease casuses irreversible damage to your system
-your chances of reaching age 40 are MUCH better with the help of surgery, than by continued weight control through (failed) non-surgical means
-the most common thing that patients say to me at 1 year after surgery:  "I wish I had done this sooner!"

In closing, I recommend you meet with your surgeon again to discuss your concerns with him/her.  He/she should be able to discuss the actual rate of problems in his/her own sleeve patients, and how those problems are handled.

Best wishes,
Dr JP

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