Bariatric Surgery Patients at Greater Risk of Death from Alcohol, Drugs

By Traci Pedersen
Associate News Editor

Last updated: 10 Jun 2019

  ~ 2 MIN READ

Patients who have undergone Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery — a weight-loss procedure which reduces the size of the stomach and shortens the intestine — will be at greater risk of death from alcohol- or drug-related causes compared to the general public, according to a new study at the University of Pittsburgh.

“Laboratory studies indicate that Roux-en-Y gastric bypass changes the way the body reacts to alcohol and drugs, and our previous work demonstrates an increased risk of self-reported problematic alcohol use and illicit drug use following this surgery,” said senior author Wendy King, Ph.D., associate professor in the Pitt Graduate School of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology.

“This study indicates such problems can lead to loss of life.”

The research, published in the journal Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, also found that fewer than half of those who died had triggered a safety protocol for problematic substance use. Only one of those who died was known to have received treatment for substance use disorder.

“Increasingly with bariatric surgery patients, we’re finding that the tools that clinicians traditionally use to screen for drug or alcohol problems don’t work well to identify those at risk,” said lead author Gretchen White, Ph.D., epidemiologist in the Pitt School of Medicine’s Department of Surgery. “These deaths are an extreme and sad example of a problem that needs to be addressed.”

For seven years, the research team followed 2,458 adults who underwent bariatric surgery. The participants were enrolled in the National Institutes of Health-funded Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery-2 (LABS-2), an observational study of patients receiving weight-loss surgery at one of 10 hospitals across the United States.

Reflecting typical bariatric surgery patients, the majority of the participants were female (79%) and white (86%). At the time of surgery, the median age was 46 years old. During the seven-year follow-up, 10 of the participants died of causes directly related to drug- and alcohol-use, with six unintentional drug overdoses, one intentional overdose, one overdose where the intent was unknown and two deaths from alcoholic liver disease.

All 10 participants had undergone Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, which reduces the size of the stomach and shortens the intestine, and accounted for 72% of the bariatric procedures in the study sample.

The team looked at the deaths in terms of “person-years,” a scientific measure that takes into account both the number of people in a study and the amount of time each person spends in the study.

The drug- and alcohol-related death rate was 89 deaths per 100,000 person-years for the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery patients, compared to 30.5 deaths per 100,000 person-years for the general population matched on age, sex, race and calendar year. On average, the deaths occurred nearly five years post-surgery.

“While drug- and alcohol-related deaths were too rare to identify risk factors, it is noteworthy that the demographics of those who died were similar to the full sample. Based on demographics, bariatric surgery patients should be a low-risk group for substance-related death,”  said King.

The researchers suggest that new clinical screening tools, tailored specifically to bariatric surgery patients, are needed so clinicians can better detect patients at high risk for substance use problems.

For example, White says, current questionnaires ask people about the number and frequency of alcoholic beverages they consume. Since bariatric surgery patients tend to experience the effects of alcohol faster and with fewer drinks than the average person, it might be better to ask about how alcohol makes them feel, if it is interfering with daily activities and whether they or their families and friends think they may have a problem.

In addition, since the deaths occurred many years after surgery, it is especially important that primary care physicians be aware of the particular risks that bariatric surgery patients face in terms of substance use, said co-author Anita Courcoulas, M.D., chief of minimally invasive bariatric surgery at UPMC.

“This is an important issue to recognize in all bariatric surgery patients as there is a clear signal of risk for substance use-related deaths,” said Courcoulas. “Further study is required to understand the precise mechanisms, and prospective tracking of patients is very important to be able to offer more timely intervention.”

Source: University of Pittsburgh

Related: Gastric Bypass Surgery Gone Bad - CBS News

Long Term Complications Of Weight Loss Surgery

http://www.mayoclinic.org/bariatric-surgery/complications.html

One complication of gastric bypass surgery may be the development of an ulcer where the small intestine is attached to the upper part of the stomach. Ulcers may occur in 5 percent of people who have gastric bypass surgery. Ulcers are most common in people who take aspirin or other medications called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs).

A hernia or weakness in the incision occurs in about 15 percent of people who have weight-reduction surgery. This usually requires surgical repair, depending on the symptoms and the extent of the hernia. Patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery have a hernia rate of  2 percent.

A complication is a narrowing or "stricture" of the stoma (opening) between the stomach and intestine. This also may require another surgery, or more commonly an outpatient procedure that expands the narrowed area with a dilating tube that is passed to the stomach through the mouth.

Mayo Clinic physicians have recognized and reported on a serious complication following gastric bypass called NIPHS (non-insulinoma pancreatogenous hypoglycemia syndrome) or post-bariatric surgery hypoglycemia. This is characterized by very low blood sugar levels after eating that results in severe neurologic symptoms, including visual disturbances, confusion and  seizures.

Mayo physicians in Rochester have evaluated and treated several patients with NIPHS. When medical and diet therapy fail, surgical removal of part of the pancreas has resulted in marked improvement of symptoms for most. If symptoms described above occur, patients should notify their physician immediately. Until this condition is controlled, patients should avoid driving motorized vehicles or performing tasks that could effect the safety of those around them.

After Roux-en-Y gastric bypass the body cannot not absorb certain vitamins and minerals. Long-term complications of this malabsorption may include the following:

• Anemia due to deficiency of iron or vitamin B12
• Neurologic complications from vitamin B12 deficiency
• Kidney stone disease due to changes in how the body absorbs calcium and oxalate
• Possible bone disease due to mineral or vitamin D deficiency

Follow-up visits with the physician will determine which vitamin and mineral supplements are necessary after surgery. The need for vitamin and mineral supplements is especially true for people who have a very long limb Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, because this surgery can be associated with frequent diarrhea and failure to absorb enough calcium and iron.

Related: See Dr Oz Get Busted for Weight Loss Fraud Click Here

Dehydration is a complication following weight-reduction surgery, as patients are no longer able to drink large quantities of liquid at one time.

In the first three to six months, the patient may experience one or more of the following changes as the body reacts to rapid weight loss:

• Body aches
• Feeling tired, like one has the flu
• Feeling cold when others feel comfortable
• Dry skin
• Hair thinning and hair loss
• Changes in mood
• Relationship issues

Gastric Bypass Kills More Than One in Fifty Victims Within the First 30 Days

A recent study by researchers at the University of Washington found that 1 in 50 people die within one month of having gastric bypass surgery, and that figure jumps nearly fivefold if the surgeon is inexperienced.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/21/earlyshow/contributors/melindamurphy/main668323.shtml#ixzz1Pl0wncyu

The barbarians who offer this surgery to patients tell them that there death rate is 1 in 200 but that is a lie. The death toll is much higher. It is 1 in 50 within the first 30 days but even if you are lucky enough to make it past 30 days you are still not out of the woods. The complications of this deadly surgery are many and varied.

F
rom Bariatric Times an Industry Website

With the rising number of Roux en-Y gastric bypasses performed around the world, general surgeons should expect to face an equally rising number of early- and late-term complications. Marginal or anastomotic ulcers constitute the majority of these cases, representing as many as 52 percent of postoperative complications. Marginal ulceration is a challenging problem, which can cause significant of morbidity in other words death in the postoperative bariatric patient. Its etiology remains elusive and perhaps multifactorial, including both exogenous and intrinsic or technical factors. In addition, while prevention is key, it is often difficult to achieve. While most of these types of ulcers do respond to medical therapy, there is a select group of patients that continues to suffer from symptomatic, nonhealing ulcers, despite appropriate medical treatment, and requires surgical intervention. The current body of literature does not contain a great deal on the subject of optimal surgical management for marginal ulcers intractable to medical therapy, perhaps a reflection of marginal ulcers’ unclear etiology. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge on marginal ulcers, starting with the diagnosis and medical management, and focusing on current approaches to surgical management, including innovative techniques. The goal is to recognize risk factors, promote patient adherence with treatment, and to become well versed with surgical options and preventive measures.

Doctors lie.

They will blame the patient by saying, "Well, they were fat and unhealthy to begin with." but the truth is it is not usually the co-morbid conditions of obesity that kill these people who have been suckered into this ghastly surgery it is almost always the surgery itself.

How Does it Work?

Ghastly Bypass Surgery simply makes eating and digestion very difficult. WLS takes a perfectly healthy digestive system and damages it so it cannot function properly. That IMO is insanity and bad bad bad medicine.

Weight Loss Surgery Is Really Elective Surgery 

Heart valve replacement surgery is a must for patients but it has a far far lower mortality rate than ghastly bypass.

The mortality rate for heart valve replacement surgery is only 2.4%.

That’s right. That's truth about heart valve surgery.  At some clinics, the rate has dropped to only 1.8%. When they try to hand you the malarkey that the high mortality rates are due to the pre-surgical health of the patient they are lying.

The death rate for open heart surgery nationwide is 2.14%

If you have stumbled onto this article because you are fat and sickly then maybe it's time you realize that the gluttonous lifestyle is not for you. You can eat responsibly without being forced to do so by this deadly, barbaric and ghastly procedure. You do have a choice. You can continue your gluttony and accept the fact that food and it's pleasures means more to you than anything else, even life itself or you can eat the kind of food at the amount lean people eat.

If you are one of the "lucky" ones who don't die you will suffer from the many complications that never go away and the thing thing you love the most ie FOOD will never soothe, and pleasure you again. No matter how you look at it ghastly bypass is a very bad idea.