Disturbing bariatric surgery market forecasts in 2010

14th December 2009

Disturbing bariatric surgery market forecasts in 2010

posted in Fat Bias, Health, Nutrition & Fitness, New Research, Rachel |

This is a post I’ve had simmering on the back burner now for a few months and am just now getting around to posting…

My older brother has always been a husky guy. He’s lost and regained the same 50-60 pounds or so several times in his adult life. Some months back, he went to see a new doctor for a check-up, which surprised me given Jim’s phobia of all things medical (he spent several weeks in ICU as a teen for severe asthma and pneumonia and has been doctor-wary since). Other than slightly elevated cholesterol levels, Jim checked out A-OK health-wise. Then the doctor decided to give him “the talk.”

Yeah, fat folk everywhere know what I’m talking about.

Jim said that the doctor seemed very nervous and after some fumbling, finally told him that his BMI was XX and asked if Jim knew what that meant. “Yeah,” said Jim with a laugh, “It means I’m fat.” If my brother is self-conscious about his weight, he doesn’t show it. He’s one of those kinds of people who will tell you that he’s a big fat cliche (sedentary, supersized fast food diet, regular soda drinker) and doesn’t apologize for it. Jim’s thick-skinned attitude seemed to break the ice and the doctor then discussed his options, or rather thereof. “Have you ever considered weight-loss surgery?” he asked. “You’d be a good candidate for…” Jim stopped the good doctor mid-sentence. “I’ve lost weight before by eating healthier and exercising,” said Jim. “Weight-loss surgery isn’t even a consideration for me.”

I find it disturbing that the doctor’s first recommendation was not for Jim to improve his diet or exercise more, but rather to go under knife and rewire a perfectly functioning digestive system. Of course,the best way to a patient’s wallet is through his stomach — simply eating healthier and moving more won’t pay for the good doctor’s Lexus.

What was once considered to be a last, desperate option reserved only for those with life threatening weight-related health issues has now become so ubiquitous that at least one weight-loss surgical procedure (lap-band) is now considered to be an elective, cosmetic surgery and is being marketed by some facilities to people with just 30-40 extra unwanted pounds. The National Institutes of Health states that bariatric surgery should be reserved for those with a BMI of 40 or more or those with a BMI of 35 and a weight-related co-morbidity, but “co-morbidity” here is a vague term that can be — and is — used to describe any condition from headaches to depression in order to circumvent the strict requirements insurance companies set for qualified candidates. There were 220,000 bariatric surgeries performed in 2008 (in the U.S.), up from 205,000 performed in 2007. Despite the economic recession, one healthcare market research firm estimates there to have been 350,000 procedures performed worldwide in 2009, which translates into sales of $517 million for surgical devices used in bariatric surgery, or a 21.6 percent increase over 2008 sales. And the profiteers are hard at work devising new markets and demographics to drain. Health News Digest has a rundown of some of the disturbing bariatric surgery trends we can expect to see in 2010:

Grand Opening: New Surgical Weight Loss Program for Teens — As the list of benefits of weight loss surgery in teens increases, we will see more surgical weight loss programs for teens popping up at hospitals across the map.

Surgeons will be offering revision surgeries such as the transoral ROSE to people who have previously had weight loss surgery but have gained the weight back – a growing population both literally and figuratively.

Weight Loss Surgery Not Just for the Obese — As studies highlight the curative powers of bariatric surgery, there will be a push to offer it to people with even lower body mass indexes (BMI). …if people who are just moderately obese also have diabetes, they too should be considered candidates. [Even the government isn't convinced that WLS for moderately overweight people with diabetes is beneficial.]

Hourglass Figure Possible After Massive Weight Loss — More and more people are undergoing bariatric surgery to lose weight, only to be left with hanging fat and flab in visible areas. As plastic surgeons put on their thinking caps to better address these issues, expect to hear about many new procedures, including the corset trunkplasty. [Surgeons' fees average $1,400 to $1,800 for gastric bypass, but some bariatric surgeons also offer offer tummy tucks and other cosmetic procedures to remove excess skin, charging up to $14,000.]

No mention is made of a trend amongst doctors in recommending a major surgical procedure that carries a litany of serious medical risks, many longterm and including death, (up to five percent of WLS patients die in the first year, according to one doctor) as a fat patient’s first and only choice in healthy weight management, but it is, no doubt, a phenomenon not only occurring in just my brother’s doctor’s office. Patient beware.

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This entry was posted on Monday, December 14th, 2009 at 5:39 pm and is filed under Fat Bias, Health, Nutrition & Fitness, New Research, Rachel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1 On December 14th, 2009, Rose said:

People will do things they know will hurt them, just because it’s “easier” and takes less effort on their part. Also it helps that the doctors don’t upfront tell you that these things can kill you. They literally dance around the fact and throw it in almost as an after thought. A small, “by the way, this is terrific and you should totally do it, but there’s a tiny-winy chance there will be “complications”.”

posted on December 14th, 2009 at 6:45 pm

2 On December 14th, 2009, Anna said:

this is really scary. The idea such a dangerous surgery is being pushed with so little talk of the side effects worries me greatly.

I mean, the risks of heart surgery are often discussed. We have dozens of programs talking about disasters with plastic surgery. But bariatric surgery? If I didn’t read fatosphere blogs, I would honestly think it was safe and easy, because that’s all you hear about.

posted on December 14th, 2009 at 7:39 pm

3 On December 14th, 2009, bri said:

The thing with banding is that most patients (I need to find my source for this but anyway) only lose about 20-30 pounds in the long run (they usually initially lose a lot more but then slowly put it back on and end up generally only about 10kg/25lb less than they were before banding). So it doesn’t surprise me that much that medicos are recommending it more and more for people who are only slightly ‘overweight’. It disgusts me but doesn’t surprise me…

posted on December 14th, 2009 at 8:49 pm

4 On December 14th, 2009, Kataphatic said:

I find it disturbing that the doctor’s first recommendation was not for Jim to improve his diet or exercise more, but rather to go under knife and rewire a perfectly functioning digestive system.

You know, I am definitely with you on being extremely disturbed by the numbers of doctors recommending WLS (and the numbers of people having the procedure without being fully informed of the actual risks and likely outcomes) BUT I don’t see how counseling him about improving his diet/exercise is any better. In some ways, recommending surgery is actually better because it means the doctor admits that things like diet and exercise, in the vast number of cases, don’t actually make for long-term weight loss.

Obviously the ideal would be doctors recognizing that attempting to lose weight is neither a realistic nor healthy goal for the VAST majority of patients, and instead encourage a health at every size model.

posted on December 14th, 2009 at 9:22 pm

5 On December 14th, 2009, Kataphatic said:

Also, let me be clear, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with doctors checking in with patients about their diet/exercise habits. What I take issue with is doctors assuming that fat patients aren’t eating well/moving enough (and also that thin people ARE!). What I take issue with is using weight as a factor in judging how a person is eating and moving at all. Doctors should check in with all their patients about their self-care choices and give them options and information help them make even better choices. I routinely find that doctors and NP’s don’t believe me when I tell them what my diet/exercise habits are, just because I’m fatter than they think a person who eats and moves like I do should be. It is discouraging, triggers my ED, and makes me reluctant to go to the doctor at all. And I’m not the only one with this experience.

posted on December 14th, 2009 at 9:26 pm

6 On December 14th, 2009, Lisa said:

I’m sorry, my brain got to “corset trunkoplasty” and stopped.

posted on December 14th, 2009 at 10:13 pm

7 On December 14th, 2009, Sharon said:

*Slams head against desk until concussion occurs*

posted on December 14th, 2009 at 10:26 pm

8 On December 15th, 2009, Alyssa (The 40 Year-Old) said:

SO what’s next? I go for a checkup and my GP tells me I’m a good candidate for breast implants?!?!?!

posted on December 15th, 2009 at 12:49 am

9 On December 15th, 2009, ani said:

this just kinda makes me hate the world.

posted on December 15th, 2009 at 8:24 am

10 On December 15th, 2009, Mary Sue said:

Cory Doctrow’s newest book Makers has a subplot that is scarily like Health Digest’s predictions (but with nanobots!)

posted on December 15th, 2009 at 12:07 pm

11 On December 29th, 2009, VeryOldGuy said:

Surgery has become the easy way out for many overweight people. That’s really scary.

posted on December 29th, 2009 at 10:56 pm

12 On March 18th, 2010, Twistie said:

Since I only work part time, and that from home, I have a lot of time to watch TV and see what messages are being given us all day every day. If you watch during the day on any channel that expects a significant female viewership, you’ll see at least a dozen weight loss surgery ads a day, none of which even begin to suggest that there might possibly be a downside to any version of the procedure. In fact, I’ve been mulling over a little non-scientific study in which I spend a day each on five different channels over the course of a week and tote up the diet/diet supplement/weight loss surgery ads.

I think this could yield some interesting results.

posted on March 18th, 2010 at 4:09 pm