Dying While Waiting For The Surgery
Ottawa Citizen, 3rd June 2009
The newest reports show that some patients in Canada die waiting for the weight-loss surgery. This kind of treatment is much longer than any other surgery in the country. Patients have to wait for over five years.
In the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal 12 patients died while waiting for the treatment. The average age of the patients was 46.
Patients who died suffered from obesity-related issues, such as sleep apnea, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, blood clots in the veins or deep vein thrombosis.
“It is not surprising that prolonged waits of more than five years for bariatric surgery lead to deaths among patients on the waiting list, given the devastating obesity-associated diseases that afflict these patients,” said the report.
Dr. Nicolas Christou, director of the batriatic surgery at the McGill University said weight-loss surgery cures or at least improves these obesity-related health problems. He also added that lack of the surgery on time causes or contributes to the patients’ deaths.
The problem in Canada is not only endless waiting for the weight-loss procedure but also lack of lifelong follow up for patients.
One of the most common type of surgery is gastric bypass and gastric banding. Gastric band patients need to be looked after specialists, such as dietitians, psychologists and a batriatic physician who will adjust the bands with them and make sure they stay on a diet.
Specialists say that without a proper follow up, as studies from France show, many patients do not manage to lose weight and their conditions worsen. For gastric bypass patients vitamin deficiencies can lead to paralysis if they are not detected and treated.
Studies show that about 600.000 to 1.2 million Canadians might be eligible for the weight-loss surgery.
For the right patients surgery can save life. Unfortunately only one in four patients referred to the batriatic program is considered for the procedure. Some of them have mental health problems, addictions or can’t have the operation as they are considered too high a surgical risk.
Dr. Christou says “bariatric surgery is the only treatment that produces substantial and sustained long-term weight loss for the severely obese.”
