Health Hazards of Bariatric Surgery

Bariatric surgery and other invasive, surgical ways to treat obesity are becoming increasingly popular among severely overweight Americans. However, according to new data provided by the American Gastroenterological Association, the long-term health toll of such operations can well overweight their initial success in helping people shed some pounds. Severe complications, including fecal and urinary incontinence, diarrhea, fungal and bacterial infections of the gastrointestinal tract, and chronic malabsorption of nutrients leading to deficiency diseases, can be a consequence of attempting to manage obesity by surgical means.

The National Institute of Health estimates that, currently, almost 130 million Americans, or 64 percent of the total US population, are either overweight or obese, with the obesity rates showing a steady increase over the last decade. At the Digestive Disease Week conference that was recently held in California, researchers have reported that overweight and especially morbid obesity puts affected individuals at a high risk of developing numerous diseases, including adult onset diabetes, heart disease, stroke, Barrett’s esophagus (damage of the esophagus lining due to chronic acid reflux and heartburn), and various cancers, especially those of the esophagus and pancreas.

Gastric bypass and other types of invasive surgical procedures designed to treat obesity are indeed popular options for those who want to lose weight without dieting or exercising. The surgical intervention is particularly accepted by morbidly obese individuals, who have little success in losing weight by applying conventional methods. However, long-term health risks of such procedures can be quite high, so patients should consider side effects and reported dangers of the surgical invasion before making a decision to proceed with the operation.

Since bariatric surgery is the most dangerous, controversial, and invasive type of weight-loss clinical procedures, many overweight people are now opting for less radical surgical methods of losing weight. Minimally-invasive endolumial techniques, which include popular per-oral suturing, now show promising results in encouraging people eat less and therefore lose excess pounds. The operation is performed through the oral cavity and involves suturing together the stomach walls in order to reduce its volume.

Several clinical trials have confirmed the effectiveness of this operation in helping people lose considerable amounts of weight. However, on the long run, people whose stomach volume was artificially reduced can experience severe nutritional deficiencies leading to developing of numerous health conditions, including depression, hair loss, etc. Therefore, everyone who has undergone a per-oral suturing procedure should strictly follow the prescribed dietary regime that includes potent vitamin and mineral supplements.

The researchers speaking at the conference have also pointed out that, in addition to taking vitamin, mineral and amino acid pills, people after a weight loss surgery should supplement their diet with probiotics. Probiotics, which can be obtained from traditional lacto-fermented foods, including unpasteurised sauerkraut and yogurt, as well as from various commercial supplements, can improve the rates of weight loss, facilitate digestion, enhance the overall quality of life after the operation, and reduce the amount and severity of post-surgical complications. Supplemented probiotics are especially effective in combating the overgrowth of harmful bacteria and fungi – a common complication of bypass surgery procedures.

The conference also discussed a high prevalence of such after-surgery complications as fecal and urinary incontinence, which can severely affect the quality of the patient’s life. According to the conference data, weight-loss surgical procedures, including gastric binding or bypass surgery, can often either trigger the onset, or aggravate the pre-existed condition of fecal or urinary incontinence. In addition, roughly 50 percent of patients who have undergone bariatric surgery suffer from worsening diarrhea and indigestion.

Participating at the conference Professor Arnold Wald, MD, has commented that, although modern bariatric surgery is considered a good and effective measure of treating morbid obesity, the overall quality of after-surgery life in many patients is yet to be improved.

Terry Smith