critical review on risks versus benefits of bariatric surgery

Background: bariatric surgery refers to a series of weight loss procedures that an obese individual can have in order to reduce their food intake, therefore causing them to lose weight. Obese patients lose more weight with bariatric surgery than with medical weight-loss treatment. The laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure results in more short-term weight loss than laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, but the latter has fewer postoperative complications and a lower mortality rate; long-term comparative data are currently lacking. The decision regarding which procedure to perform should be based on individual patient and surgeon factors

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Aim and Intervention of the study: to review the history of bariatric surgery in order to compare the different bariatric operations, to list the current indications for these procedures, to evaluate the outcomes, and to consider the risks

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Position: a critical review of controlled randomized studies has provided evidence that bariatric surgery produces durable weight loss exceeding 100 lb [46 kg], full and long-term remission of type 2 diabetes in over 80% with salutary effects on the other comorbidities as well with significant reductions in all-cause mortality

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Conclusion: bariatric surgery is the therapy of choice for patients with severe obesity