Bariatric surgery became the buzzword when the weight loss journey of Eman Ahmed, once said to be the world's heaviest woman at 500kg, was widely covered. But, her death late last month has raised questions about the safety of the surgery among obese patients. Also, the same month, a 46-year-old woman who had a weight loss surgery at a private hospital in Chennai in August, died owing to post-surgery complications.
However, leading bariatric surgeons say the risk factors associated with bariatric surgery are as low as 0.5 per cent, which is on par with a routine hernia surgery. “I have conducted 5,000 weight loss surgeries till date and so far I have not had a single death,” says Dr Shashank Shah, bariatric surgeon, Fortis hospital, Mumbai. “Obese patients have a high mortality rate and if it goes untreated, the risk can be 20-30 per cent higher when compared to undergoing bariatric surgery. Worldwide data says the risk of death following bariatric surgery is almost negligible and less than that of a delivery.”
Of the 15,000 bariatric surgeries performed in India each year, says Shah, there could be one odd case where a patient dies a month or so after the surgery. Dr Rajesh Khullar, president of Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society of India says, “The side-effects of bariatric surgery most commonly seen in patients are calcium, iron and B12 deficiencies as the body is unable to absorb them due to a limited diet post surgery. These deficiencies can easily be treated with nutritional supplements post surgery.” Also, obese patients are highly prone to co-morbidities like diabetes and hypertension, which are more harmful.
Around 90 per cent of obese patients need nutritional supplements, says Shah, irrespective of whether they have undergone bariatric surgery or not. “Obese patients tend to suffer from nutritional deficiencies and if they don’t get treated, it goes unnoticed and they suffer the consequences of it. Post weight loss surgery, under the guidance of doctors, they are far more careful and take their nutritional supplements,” he explains.
Experts emphasise that as long as bariatric surgery patients follow post-operative care procedures, like allowing the stomach tissues to heal and strictly following a liquid diet for a few days, there is no risk involved with the procedure. “A bariatric surgery is all about teamwork, where several specialists have to work together to ensure the well-being of the patient, which includes counselling and regular followups,” says Dr Raman Goel, director, Centre for Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery, Wockhardt Hospitals, Mumbai. “If that is done, the risk is extremely low.”
