Death: about 1 in every 200 patients dies as the result of bariatric surgery.

[Jersrose43 837]

Mine was 1%

1 in every 1,000 dies

[onmywaytobeingfound 163]

The surgeon I had, had no deaths under him when we initially met. He has patients come from other states even! He did end up with 1 death. But he'd been doing bariatric surgery for years. I think it really comes back to your surgeon. Definitely do an online search about your surgeon before meeting.

[jjwhitman 19]

My surgeon had told me that there is only a 1% chance of death with gastric Pat bypass. Maybe I misunderstood, but I know the risk is not that great.

[Redsfan19 37]

Agreed with everyone that your doctor should be forthcoming about his/her individual stats, particularly when you ask. My surgeon, was insistent that as a potential patient, I be thoroughly aware of the various risks this surgery holds in general, and he and I talked about my individual concerns. Never take what you read as the final say on this stuff - use it to put together questions for your medical team, and they'll help you understand what those statistics mean, as other posters here have, both in general and for you in particular.

[SandyS 77]

My surgeon has a 1 in 750 death rate. Scary thought but I am eight weeks post op and it's the best decision I could have made! We could die from any surgery, car accident, or death by chocolate cake! Just kidding! ???? For some reason I felt the need to say that. My bad.

[snyders4 8]

No disrespect but I'd like to see statistics on how many die while following Dr's orders. I'm sure the numbers would be much lower.

[Beni 1,484]

You should ask your doctor. I saw 3 doctors and asked what their complication rates were. Mine had one death in over 2,200 patients. That patient was very high risk suffering from emphysema . The other doctor had also 1 death due to a blood clot and that patient had a blood clothing disorder. I can't remember the third.

The mortality rate is comparable to having your gallbladder removed.

Select a doctor with lots of experience and a thriving practice.

[Beni 1,484]

@@snyders4

You are spot on. For whatever reason some WLS patients are not as compliant as they should. It would follow that after you have RNY, your stomach now the size of an egg and having been stapled together, you wouldn't try to eat an entire corn dog 2 days later at the County Fair. Apparently someone did and of course burst their stomach open. Congratulations for being a complete idiot would be my answer. Sadly enough there are a lot of stories like that. Nurses and doctors have some sad stories to tell.

[GADeltaDawn 14]

I think it's important to look at your surgeon's statistics and compare them to national averages. My surgeon makes their stats available to whoever asks as part of their education of patients. Turns out the complication rates for the one I chose are less than half the national average which is why I chose them. I wanted the best. Also take a look at how many of these surgeries they do every week. The more, the better because you are getting a surgeon with finetuned skills. Just do your research and find someone that you are confident in. Best of luck in your journey!

[trees111 0]

In my info session they said you're more likely to die having your tonsils taken out. That put things into perspective for me. My kids are 5 & 2 so this is a big worry for me and my husband. But it comes down to the skill and experience of the individual surgeon so ask them their stats.

[jess9395 5,448]

My surgeon had told me that there is only a 1% chance of death with gastric Pat bypass. Maybe I misunderstood, but I know the risk is not that great.

Ummm 1% is 1 in every 100 dies which is twice the risk the initial poster quoted of 1 in 200 (which would be a .5% chance).

My surgeon has had one death in 12 years and thousands of surgeries. A very elderly person with lung issues from the get go and had a pulmonary embolism

[GoGoNiner 17]

My surgeon said straight out 1 in 1,000 dies. In his 35 years of surgeries he has had 1 patient die and that was due to a post operative infection that went untreated. The patient just thought it was pain and would go away and ignored the other symptoms.

[Heather_8.1.14 65]

I didnt read any of the other replies but you're more likely to get hit by a car then dying of this surgery complication, HOWEVER if you dont follow your surgeons instructions then honestly, it is more of a concern.

My stepdad used to try to scare me saying one of his cousins had died from complications with her RNY surgery, my first question was "What was she eating/drinking that she wasnt." He told me she was drinking 2 2 liters of pop a day and not following the diet....well, there's your answer.

Dont let that scare you, those who die from WLS are the ones who were looking for a quick way out but didnt truly want to change their lifestyles, they signed their own death certificates long before the surgery

[drmeow 323]

Dont let that scare you, those who die from WLS are the ones who were looking for a quick way out but didnt truly want to change their lifestyles, they signed their own death certificates long before the surgery

While it's true that some complications are a result of non-compliance, others such as pulmonary embolism and stroke are not. As a group, obese patients already have underlying issues that can lead to complications. The best surgeons take that into account but cannot eliminate risk entirely.

[Heather_8.1.14 65]

While it's true that some complications are a result of non-compliance, others such as pulmonary embolism and stroke are not. As a group, obese patients already have underlying issues that can lead to complications. The best surgeons take that into account but cannot eliminate risk entirely.

Agreed, with every surgery there is risk for complication, but these cases are rare.