Ok, I know this is not the question you might wanna see here... my surgery is this coming Tuesday and my worst fear is not waking up aka dying over there. Are there any stats on how many ppl ever died during this procedure? Or after?

Do you have any major health risks (apart from obesity, of course)--heart problems, history of blood clots, etc.?

I don't have any data in front of me, but I'm betting the percentages of complications (up to and including death) will vary quite a bit depending on the group of patients you're most interested in. Older vs. younger, extremely high BMI vs. low BMI, heart issues vs. healthy heart, it could go on and on.

Heck, I bet if I looked long enough I could find a study saying blue eyed sleevers do better (or worse) than people with other haircolors; or right-handed die more often than left (never mind that there's just a higher percentage of right-handers in the world to begin with)!

Editing to add--another thing that you might want to factor in is how many successful sleeve surgeries your hospital and your doctor in particular have had; that might help you to feel more confident!

Editing to add--another thing that you might want to factor in is how many successful sleeve surgeries your hospital and your doctor in particular have had; that might help you to feel more confident!

EXCTLY!

I consider this a HUGE factor! This was my #1 factor in researching drs in the states and MX

Death: The mortality rate of the laparoscopic Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy nationwide is 0.3% to 2%.

EXCTLY!

I consider this a HUGE factor! This was my #1 factor in researching drs in the states and MX

So do you know the death rate in Mexico??

At it's highest mortality can be 2% in the US. At lowest .1%. Why the range? Because that's the nature of mortality statistics. Oftentimes when you have a large N number (sample size in statistics) making an absolute average is impossible because there are too many conflicting factors. Hence the range. I have no clue about Mexico or whether they even keep such medical tourism stats. But you have a right to ask your surgeon how many of these cases he/she has performed and their mortaility and complication rates. Surgery is a scary prospect for everyone, and the best way to get the best outcome is to be screened properly for underlying conditions, choose your surgeon, anesthesiologist, and facility wisely, and get as educated as possible. That's how to become an informed patient! Good luck!

Ok the reason I asked about Mexico, is because after I posted the stats I realized the op is having it done in Mexico not the states...

I have been searching the Internet and cannot find any stats on Mexico...

The doctors down there say there is a risk because its major surgery but do not mention stats.

Nope. I went by specific drs that I would consider. Hospitals/facilities are open about drs death/complication rates. I narrowed my search down then when the stats cut out any WA docs compared to MX I was even more confidant in returning to MX to one of the few drs I picked. The biggest factor was their experience and then death rate and the complication rate from leaks. Other complications weren't my biggest concern because so many factors are in relation to the patient alone.

My doc in Mexico posted his own individual stats.

The mortality rate in Mexico is 0.19%. This is not calculated by people who necessarily died on the table but also due to complications after.

The mortality rate in Mexico is 0.19%. This is not calculated by people who necessarily died on the table but also due to complications after.

Mortality rate is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a population

Oh and where did you find these stats??

Mortality rate is a measure of the number of deaths (in general' date=' or due to a specific cause) in a population

Oh and where did you find these stats??[/quote']

It was a short paragraph in this article, it was as close as I got to any info.

http://www.gastricsleeve.org/tag/complications-with-gastric-sleeve/

Thank you! So I am 27 years old, 5'7 and 260 lbs. My surgery is in mexico with dr ponce de leon. I asked his patient cordinator and she said nobody ever died and that he has done thousands of these surgeries. I guess my chances of seeing my husband and baby again are high

I just read that the complication/mortality rate is Better that with gallbladder surgery. It's less that 1 percent.

The stats can be whatever you want them to be

Good luck on your journey.

I asked my surgeon that same question. Have anybody died that you know of? He told me that they had operated on a very heavy woman some years ago and she had gone directly from the hospital to McDonalds to celebrate the gastric bypass that she had done. She managed to stuff her face with 18 hamburgers before she died!? Some people aren´t mentally equipped for a different lifestyle.