Gastric bypass safe for elderly
Gastric bypass surgery is as safe for the elderly as it is for younger patients, American researchers have found. The operation, which is said to have many complications, is prescribed to treat ‘morbid’ obesity, defined as a body mass index greater than 40, and also to treat type two diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnoea, and other co-morbid conditions.
Gastric bypass surgery is as safe for the elderly as it is for younger patients, American researchers have found.
The operation, which is said to have many complications, is prescribed to treat ‘morbid’ obesity, defined as a body mass index greater than 40, and also to treat type two diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnoea, and other co-morbid conditions.
Several small studies reported previously have yielded mixed results about safety in those over 65, but a new study on a much larger group of patients found no increased risk from the procedure.
Although deemed to be “safe”, researcher, Dr Robert Dorman of the University of Minnesota, said elderly patients spent more time in the hospital after the surgery was completed.
Of the 48,378 American patients who underwent the surgery from 2005 to 2009, about 5% were over the age of 65.
They examined the 30-day mortality rate in the patients and found it was slightly, but not significantly, higher in those over 65.
The long-term mortality rate of gastric bypass patients was reduced by up to 40%, however, complications are common and surgery-related death are said to occur within one month in 2% of patients.
Researchers revealed obesity in the elderly is rising in America, with at least 12% of people over the age of 65 having a BMI greater than 35.
The National Institutes of Health recommended that age 65 be the cut-off for the risky surgery.
Such surgeries performed on the elderly have increased from 1.9% in 2005 to 4.8% in 2009.
However, researchers cautioned that the decision to perform surgery on an elderly patient should be dictated by the patient’s specific physical characteristics and health.
Dr Adam Janson at Victoria’s Complete Weight Loss Surgery, told DPS Publishing gastric bypass is “not an insignificant operation with some mortality, and not an operation that our surgeons perform with any regularity”.
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