Is Bariatric surgery risky?

I once listened to Jake Shears from the band, “Scissor Sisters” on a radio program and he talked about a song he wrote about his good friend, Mary.

Mary was very overweight and Jake told her that if the song did well he would pay for her bariatric surgery. (Mary is the one who wanted the surgery). The song was a hit so Jake paid for the surgery.  Mary was elated and did the surgery. She died several days after the surgery.

For those of us who are overweight like Jake’s friend Mary, we sometimes feel like we would do anything to look thinner.  I have researched all kinds of diets, fat-reducing procedures, etc. and came to the conclusion that the only thing that will work for me is bariatric surgery.  I have found no shortage of doctors willing to do the procedure.

However, there are issues.  I’ve heard of many doctors performing the surgery and then being unavailable after the procedure. A really good surgeon is the best but aftercare is important too.  If the office staff is rude or unresponsive, even a good doctor won’t work. Some people have reported going to the emergency room and had no response from the doctor’s office.

The best thing to do is find a doctor who has performed multiple surgeries with good outcomes.  I looked on the UCLA website and they report no serious issues or morbidity on their website. However, I would want to talk to doctors directly and patients if possible.

Many doctors say that if your BMI is 30 or above, you are a candidate because your health is at risk without the surgery.  So you can die by being so overweight and unhealthy. Another issue is insurance. Many insurance companies require patients to try a good diet for 12 months before they approve the surgery.  So the insurance companies don’t want to throw money at surgery without seeing you really try first to lose weight.

I would love to get a clearer picture of what I should do but for now, I continue to work on my weight loss plan with my doctor although I would definitely like faster results.  Overall it is really hard to know what the right decision is. On most days I feel like I should just go for it and then there are some days where I feel scared.