weight loss information
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What Are the Risks of Weight Loss Surgery?Weight
Loss Surgery Candidates
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Abdominal hernia was the most common complication requiring follow-up surgery, but laparoscopic surgical techniques (using smaller incisions) seem to have solved this problem, except for patients who are super-obese (>350 pounds) or have had previous abdominal surgery. Less common surgical risks include breakdown of the staple line and stretched stomach outlets. |
Some obese patients who have weight-loss surgery develop gallstones. Gallstones are clumps of cholesterol and other matter that form in the gallbladder. During rapid or substantial weight loss, a person’s risk of developing gallstones increases. Taking supplemental bile salts for the first 6 months after surgery can prevent gallstones.
Nearly 30 percent of patients who have weight-loss surgery develop nutritional deficiencies such as anemia, osteoporosis, and metabolic bone disease. These deficiencies usually can be avoided if vitamin and mineral intakes are high enough.
Women of childbearing age should avoid pregnancy until their weight becomes stable because rapid weight loss and nutritional deficiencies can harm a developing fetus.
For more information about weight loss surgical operations (including diagrams) see below.
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