Beyond Change

 

Obesity Surgery is Not the Cure

 

To those who have suffered with the disease of obesity, bariatric/weight loss surgery, may be the answer to a healthier life. After multiple failed attempts at weight loss through dieting, diet drugs and a variety of other weight loss modalities, weight loss surgery now appears to be the answer to long-term successful weight reduction.

Conventional therapies such as diets and anti-obesity drugs are most likely to fail because obesity is a recognized disease- a progressive and life-threatening disease- not unlike cancer. For this disease that is life-long, bariatric surgery as now reported in worldwide studies is most effective in producing massive weight loss for morbidly obese individuals. Even though surgery is known to be extremely effective it is still not a ‘cure’ for the disease of obesity. The disease can only be suppressed but not eliminated. Read More

 

Obesity Surgery Journal

Beyond Bariatric Surgery ...

Complications We Fail to Address

Jacquelyn K. Smiertka, RN, CBN

Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA
 

As we progress in the field of bariatric surgery, improving
methods and fine tuning operative procedures, we wit-
ness many benefits. Fewer complications, shorter hospi-
tal stays, and more evidence of successful weight loss
consistently appear in the statistics that have been
accumulated through years of research. The information
provided, continues to verify that surgery is the most
viable treatment for morbid obesity. There is minimal
literature, however, that addresses the emotional issues
faced by the patients who have undergone bariatric pro-
cedures. Postoperatively we may find at intervals of 3
months, 6 months and even 1 or more years, a patient
struggling to deal with their identity. The resolution or
improvements of various medical anomalies, may seem
insignificant as the patient now begins to focus on emo-
tional and physical changes. Their bodies' new shape
may create distressing personal concerns. Family mem-
bers may also struggle with these psychological and
physical changes. The surgery has forced the patient to
deal with the loss of a love that is not easily replaced,
the love of food. These, all too frequently, are the actual
postoperative complications of surgery. Although we
must continue to monitor physiological complications,
co-morbidity changes, and weight loss, most importantly,
we must also understand our responsibility to address
the patients' emotional well-being. While indicating our
concerns for the psychological as well as physiological
recovery, the patient may then realize a healthier transi-
tion into life beyond bariatric surgery. Read More

 

 

Key words: Bariatric surgery, morbid obesity, restrictive,
follow-up, adjustment, recovery.

Presented in the Allied Health Sciences Session at the 13th
Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery,
Quebec, Canada, 12June1996.

Correspondence to: Jacquelyn K. Smiertka, RN, 3252 University Dr. Ste. 140

Auburn Hills, MI  Phone: 248-475-4524

© 1996 Rapid Science Publishers