Lose Weight Before Weight-Loss Surgery

It is found that losing at least a little bit of weight before having weight-loss surgery can reduce the risk of having surgical complications. Medical records of 881 patients who had weight-loss surgery show that the more weight patients lost before surgery, the less likely they suffered from post-operation complications, such as infection, blood clots, and kidney problems. The post-surgery complication rate was almost twice as much in patients who gained weight before surgery than patients who lost weight before surgery.

All of the patients had open Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery where staples are used to create a pouch in the stomach that can hold only a small amount of food at a time. A part of the small intestine is attached to the pouch so that food bypasses the rest of the stomach and part of the small intestine. Some of the surgeons who perform weight-loss surgery mandate that certain high-risk patients lose weight before having the surgery.