Hi All!

I am about 3 weeks post op after having a sleeve. My mother in law has also gone through the process to be approved for WLS but has terrible acid reflux, so she can’t have a VSG, she also has a hiatal hernia, and a lot of fear after hearing a statistic that 1/200 die from RNY. This is the main thing holding her back.

So, my question for you all who have had the surgery, What would you tell her?

I think she truly wants to have WLS but now she scared and 1/200 is a pretty high statistic. Have you heard that? Is that true? It’s seems high to me.

Thank you so much for taking time to give me your insight!

HW 289

SW 262

CW ? (5/14= 248lbs)

VSG 5/2/18 [emoji92]

Kaiser, Ontario - Dr. Chin

My doc said 1/2000. Quite a difference! He did lose one patient to a clot - same rate as other comparable surgeries of that operation length...

This is an interesting link. It compares other common surgeries and the risk of having surgery compared to remaining obese. It says the survival rate is 99.8%.

https://www.bariatric-surgery-source.com/gastric-bypass-surgery-deaths.html

My doc also said 1/2000

but let’s be real...the number 1 risk of any surgery is death. And I don’t think a lot of people die on the table but from complications of the surgery. A lot of times it’s complications from the patient themselves (such as not following rules for exercise and food). It may help if your MIL asks the doctor how many surgeries he has performed and his survival rate.

The real question is how much sooner will her obesity kill her? Because death is inevitable. Generally, risk of dying related to medical procedures in the US is about 1/100,000. Risk of death during childbirth in North America is 1/3750. Since she is your MIL, she survived childbirth where she had a much greater risk of dying. To me, this sounds like a "reason" she has rationalized to deal with fear.

Ask her if she had cancer and needed to have surgery, would she put it off due to the risk of death statistics? Because morbid obesity will kill her just as dead as cancer would. She may benefit from talking with a therapist about why she is hesitant to go forward.

6 minutes ago, Diana_in_Philly said:

The real question is how much sooner will her obesity kill her? Because death is inevitable. Generally, risk of dying related to medical procedures in the US is about 1/100,000. Risk of death during childbirth in North America is 1/3750. Since she is your MIL, she survived childbirth where she had a much greater risk of dying. To me, this sounds like a "reason" she has rationalized to deal with fear.

Ask her if she had cancer and needed to have surgery, would she put it off due to the risk of death statistics? Because morbid obesity will kill her just as dead as cancer would. She may benefit from talking with a therapist about why she is hesitant to go forward.

So, so true

Thank you all for the insight, so far! I really appreciate it.


HW 289
SW 262
CW ? (5/14= 248lbs)

VSG 5/2/18 [emoji92]
Kaiser, Ontario - Dr. Chin

even if it was a 1 in 200 chance, that's 0.5% That means she has a 99.5% chance of NOT dying. Those are some pretty good odds. And I think the others might be right - I think it's actually lower than that.

People can die having their tonsils out - but seriously, how often does that happen? Almost never. Same with WLS. She has nothing to worry about.