Bariatric surgery not riskier for seniors

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DALLAS, June 26 (UPI) -- Bariatric surgery in the older population is underutilized because of a misperception that old age alone puts patients at higher risk, U.S. researchers say.

Co-author Dr. Joseph Kuhn of the Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas said the study found seniors can benefit just as much as younger people from bariatric surgery without taking on additional risk.

Researchers from Baylor University Medical Center analyzed a prospective database of 100 patients age 65 and older and compared safety and outcomes to those of a younger population. All patients had laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery between January 2005 and July 2008.

Prior to surgery, older patients demonstrated higher operative risk profiles compared to their younger counterparts in relation to sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Older patients ranged in age from 65-77 with an average body mass index of 45 and younger patients ranged in age from 18-64 with an average BMI of 47.

The study found that the post-operative excess body weight loss and complication rates were comparable in both age groups -- both lost similar amounts of weight and neither group had any death during the two-year follow-up period. Post-operative complications were almost the same.

The findings were presented at the 26th annual meeting of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery in Dallas.