A recent study has demonstrated that the factors potentially leading to a bad outcome after weight loss surgery are actually quite different than once believed. The results of the study, described in a NBC News story, suggest that factors such as having Type II diabetes and patient age are more closely connected to a heightened risk of death following bariatric surgery. It was once believed that a patient's (BMI) was the best predictor of the outcome of weight loss surgery. With the results of this new study, doctors should now inform their weight loss surgery patients whether they are at an increased risk for complications because one or both of the risk factors above are present.
Bariatric Surgery Risks and Informed Consent
Weight loss surgery generally involves a procedure in which the size of the stomach is altered or the small intestine is changed in such a way so as to minimize the amount of food and calorie absorption a patient experiences after eating. One particularly popular surgery being performed today is the adjustable gastric banding (commonly known as a Lap-Band procedure). In that procedure, an inflatable ring or band (filled with saline) is placed around the stomach to limit intake. The band is periodically filled after surgery to lessen the amount of food a patient can or wants to eat. However, this procedure carries with it certain risks, such as band slippage which can prove fatal. Even more troubling is the fact the slipping of the band can occur long after the surgery was performed, and that may then compromise blood flow to the stomach causing it to break down and die.
While weight loss surgery can save lives, the risks of the procedure must be fully understood by the patient before they can meaningfully consent to the surgery. As referred to above, patients should be told if they are at an increased risk of death following surgery, because they have Type II diabetes or their age places them in a higher risk category. Under California law, a doctor may be found negligent if he or she performs surgery without first obtaining "informed consent." In such a case, the patient must prove that a reasonable person in their position would not have agreed to the procedure if he or she had been fully informed of the results and risks of and alternatives to the procedure. In the case of bariatric surgery, there is a great deal of advertising and promotion suggesting the surgery works, and very little attention is paid to the risks.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of medical malpractice, contacting an experienced malpractice attorney is likely the best way to find out whether you may be entitled to compensation.
SOURCE: New Weight-Loss Surgery Risks Uncovered, NBC News, Southern California, October 17, 2013
Bariatric Surgery Risks and Informed Consent
Weight loss surgery generally involves a procedure in which the size of the stomach is altered or the small intestine is changed in such a way so as to minimize the amount of food and calorie absorption a patient experiences after eating. One particularly popular surgery being performed today is the adjustable gastric banding (commonly known as a Lap-Band procedure). In that procedure, an inflatable ring or band (filled with saline) is placed around the stomach to limit intake. The band is periodically filled after surgery to lessen the amount of food a patient can or wants to eat. However, this procedure carries with it certain risks, such as band slippage which can prove fatal. Even more troubling is the fact the slipping of the band can occur long after the surgery was performed, and that may then compromise blood flow to the stomach causing it to break down and die.
While weight loss surgery can save lives, the risks of the procedure must be fully understood by the patient before they can meaningfully consent to the surgery. As referred to above, patients should be told if they are at an increased risk of death following surgery, because they have Type II diabetes or their age places them in a higher risk category. Under California law, a doctor may be found negligent if he or she performs surgery without first obtaining "informed consent." In such a case, the patient must prove that a reasonable person in their position would not have agreed to the procedure if he or she had been fully informed of the results and risks of and alternatives to the procedure. In the case of bariatric surgery, there is a great deal of advertising and promotion suggesting the surgery works, and very little attention is paid to the risks.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of medical malpractice, contacting an experienced malpractice attorney is likely the best way to find out whether you may be entitled to compensation.
SOURCE: New Weight-Loss Surgery Risks Uncovered, NBC News, Southern California, October 17, 2013
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