Shorter Hospital Stay and Faster Weight Loss Linked to Weight Loss Preceding Bariatric Surgery

Posted: Jun 21 in Surgery Experience by

According to a study reported in the Archives of Surgery, morbidly obese, high-risk people who lose five to 10 percent of their extra body weight before undergoing weight loss surgery, such as gastric bypass surgery, seem to have both a more rapid postoperative loss of weight and shorter hospital stay than those that don’t.

Bariatric surgery, including Lap Band surgery in Albany, is an effective long-term treatment plan for morbidly obese patients who also have co-existing health problems (co-existing health problems include diabetes, sleep apnea, liver inflammation, venous stasis disease, degenerate joint disease, and cardiopulmonary vascular disease). People who have these conditions, which are affecting their quality of lives, are seeking weight loss surgery advice in increasing numbers.

The study followed 884 patients who underwent laparoscopic or open gastric bypass surgery in 2002 through 2006. These patients were advised to attempt a 10 percent weight loss prior to having weight loss surgery. Of the total number of patients, 19 percent lost five to 10 percent of their excess weight preceding surgery, while 48 percent lost excess weight of 10 percent or more.

The results reported indicated that patients who lost five percent or more of their excess body weight were less likely to have a hospital stay longer than four days after their surgery. Further, those patients who lost over 10 percent of their excess body weight prior to surgery were over two times as likely to have lost 70 percent of their excess body weight one year following their weight loss surgery.

 

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