Benefits of Surgery

The main goal of the surgery is to prevent the devastating health effects of severe obesity. The average patient loses approximately 50% to 80% of their excess weight depending on the type of operation used.

The marked and lasting weight reduction leads to an improvement in quality of life . After surgery, there is improvement in quality of life indicators such as increased working capacity, increased physical and social activity, improved general well-being, decreased unemployment rate and decreased use of medical services.

Another benefit of surgery is a significant improvement in self-esteem . It is well known that obesity is one of the last disorders in which discrimination is still socially accepted; therefore, the morbidly obese patient is frequently the target of discrimination at work, in their social group and in other areas of social life.

The most significant effect of bariatric surgery is an overall improvement in health . Essentially all medical problems associated with obesity are improved or resolved in close to 90% of patients. After weight loss surgery, 90% of patients with Type II diabetes mellitus have improvement or resolution of their disease. A similar effect has been observed for high blood pressure. Heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux disease improves or is resolved in more than 90% of patients. There are significant benefits as well for patients with asthma and obstructive sleep apnea. It is less clear whether the risk of developing other conditions such as cancers or coronary heart disease improve significantly over very long periods of time. However, by significantly decreasing the risk factors associated with these diseases, we expect that weight loss surgery would decrease the chances of developing heart disease or cancer.