October 16, 2017 – Bariatric Surgery

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Anchor lead: What can following people for 12 years tell us about bariatric surgery? Elizabeth Tracey reports

The most common type of weight loss, or bariatric surgery, known as gastric bypass, really does work, a study following about a thousand patients for 12 years has shown. Kimberley Steele, a bariatric surgeon at Johns Hopkins, describes the outcomes.

Steele:It’s big cohort. They looked at weight loss outcomes also type 2 diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia. And what they showed is that even after 12 years there is reason to be doing a gastric bypass. It is resolving or at least making better these comorbidities and making people healthier.  :21

Patients also lost weight and kept it off.

Steele: Patients are able to sustain weight loss so what it proved was long term durable success of weight loss via the gastric bypass procedure.  :10

Steele says those who are very obese and considering the surgery should educate themselves about all the options before making an informed decision. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.