When people think of obesity, they often set the bar too low. While it’s true that even tipping the scale on obesity can have health consequences, the most grave of these health effects don’t begin until a person is grossly overweight and helpless to do anything about it. Some people become overweight due to metabolic conditions that make it almost impossible for the body to burn fat or absorb food. Others simply give in to the constant temptation caused by a culture obsessed with food. When morbid obesity grows to impossible to cope with consequences, patients often seek out the help of a doctor. Bariatric surgery is often the first option discussed. It’s a relatively safe procedure but it’s also a drastic procedure and last option for when other more conservative measures of weight control have failed the patient.

Tampa Bariatrics

Bariatric surgery is a drastic procedure designed to give morbidly obese patients a second chance at life. When patients seek relief from a surgeon, the problem has almost always gone out of control. This is not a cosmetic surgery designed to make a person look better. It’s a drastic surgical procedure that is performed to help save the patient’s health and life. Morbid obesity takes a rapid toll of sufferers. Often it is not their fault that they are obese, and the health consequences are grueling when the body becomes so overweight that movement is difficult. Breathing difficulty soon takes over and the patient is miserable. Doctors who perform bariatric surgery do so only in the most extreme cases. They don’t perform this surgery for cosmetic purposes. It’s a surgical procedure with real medical risks.

What to consider

Patients who have become so miserable from their weight and who simply can’t seem to take off weight for any lasting amount of time will find relief in bariatric surgery. The surgeon should explain the benefits and risks while at the same time discussing possible other options with patients. Unfortunately, by the time bariatric surgery is mentioned as a possible option, weight has become such a problem that all other options have been exhausted. The patient is tired and ready for a drastic measure. Safety should be considered at all costs and benefits and risks should be discussed at length before the surgery is scheduled and performed for the patient.