Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1112917
FE W SINGLE PROCEDURES OR TRE ATMENTS CAN BOA ST BARIATRIC SURGERY'S TR ACK RECORD FOR IMPROVING OR RESOLVING MULTIPLE MEDICAL CONDITIONS. OVERWHELMING CLINICAL DATA POINT TO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WEIGHT-LOSS SURGERY IN TRE ATING NOT ONLY OBESIT Y BUT A HOST OF COMORBIDITIES. The Bariatric Juggernaut BY STEVE BARRETT Sources: American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, JAMA Surgery, JAMA, Annals of Surgery HYPERTENSION 61.7% COMPARATIVE MORTALITY RISK: BARIATRIC SURGERY 0.1% GALLBLADDER SURGERY 0.7% HIP REPLACEMENT 0.93% The Waiting Game In 2006, the average bariatric surgery patient waited 86 DAYS after his or her first clinic visit to undergo the procedure. The wait had risen to 159 DAYS by 2016. n + OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA 83.6% TYPE 2 DIABETES 76.8% LIFESAVING OUTCOMES Bariatric surgery is associated with reduced mortality from a range of conditions linked to obesity. Those reductions include: TYPE 2 DIABETES: 92% CANCER: 60% CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE: 56% STAVING OFF COMORBIDITIES Bariatric surgery resolves a number of comorbidities for significant percentages of patients. AN EMPHASIS ON SAFE T Y Lapa roscopic approaches, enha nced surg ica l techniques and accreditation programs by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and the American College of Surgeons are considered key reasons for the improved safety of bariatric procedures. Early Intervention Patients who undergo weight- loss surgery while their BMI is below 40 — the threshold for morbid obesity — are more likely to achieve a BMI below the obesity cutoff of 30 in the first year after surgery. M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S C E N T R A L P E N N S Y LVA N I A ■ 2 019 1 5