I'm having such a hard time finding comprehensive and RECENT statistics on WLS.

I am specifically looking for mortality and morbidity stats for the different types of procedures. "they" say that the band is much safer than RNY... but how much safer?

I know these are all surgeon specific... but I want overall/big picture stats (with the understanding that they vary a bit). I am nowhere near choosing a surgeon, and just trying to learn about WLS in general.

Also... this one really bugs me and I can't find a THING about it online. What is the mortality rate for being morbidly obese? For example, as a 33 year old 350 lb woman... what are the odds of me dying due to obesity/obesity-related complications in the next 5 years? I want to compare that statistic to the odds of me dying due to getting the surgery. (Yes, I know these are all patient specific and co-morbidites are important. But how can I go about weighing my choices when I don't even know the relative risks of getting surgery versus not getting surgery?)

I am such a number nerd. I always want numbers and data in order to wrap my head around something. I know these figures have got to be out there somewhere. Can someone point me to a good source?? Or does anyone have insights into this type of information I'm trying to find?

Thanks so much!

Wow. I don't think the perfect sources of info for these types of figures exist because every time you add another surgeon/practice or coutry or group of patients with different health issues or starting BMIs, etc., to the mix, the averages change, ya know? Honestly, my suggestion is to choose the procedure you want and then find a surgeon with kick *** stats for that procedure. Yes, the band has a lower rate of early complications, but it also has a higher rate of future re-operation, so there's more to it than just the safety of the initial procedure.

Have you checked out the ASBMS site? I would also search through studies on PubMed.

i have no real connection to WLS, but i did a google search and managed to find this, dont know how useful or reliable it is http://www.annecollins.com/weight_he...id-obesity.htm

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/357/8/753

http://cel.isiknowledge.com/InboundS...ersID=Highwire

http://www.medhelp.org/nihlib/GF-367.html#17

There are lots of quoted articles at the bottom of the first article that might be helpful to you.

Dawn

Thank you guys SO MUCH for the leads and links!! All those were links to things I hadn't found before. Thank you thank you!

Mmmm... data. (that's my homer simpson impression, btw)

my doctor had stats that included your risk of dieing from being morbidly obese, you should ask yours.