Weight-loss surgery side effects cited

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Long-term complications from weight-loss surgery deserve more attention because the number of U.S. procedures is booming, advocates say.

Even as stomach-shrinking, or bariatric, surgery has become a standard of care for those with weight-related health issues, no one is yet sure why some bariatric patients fare better than others, or why some even face disastrous side effects, McClatchy Newspapers reported Sunday.

Some 200,000 weight-loss surgeries are being performed in the United States each year to cope with epidemic levels of obesity, providers say. They have proven effective in helping people who suffered from diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea and other issues.

But complications are common, with between 30 and 40 percent of patients suffering problems with the bariatric connections, hernias, infections and pneumonia, the news service reported, noting post-surgery problems send 18 percent of patients back to the hospital, sometimes for costly re-admissions or corrective surgery.

"Anytime you can cut into the intestine, you have a risk of complications," William Encinosa, lead author of a federal weight-loss surgery study, told McClatchy. "Clearly there are benefits for people who are morbidly obese, but these patients need to know what they are getting into."