Posted on: September 12, 2007
Weight Loss Surgery Safe for Older Overweight People
By CTW Features
Image courtesy Getty Images
Older people fare just as well after weight-loss surgery as younger people do, according to a study published in the journal Archives of Surgery.
Surgery is the best option to cure morbid obesity, according to researchers at University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University of Medicine in Cleveland, where the study was conducted. Obesity is a leading preventable cause of death.
When comparing younger patients to older ones over age 60, researchers found that older patients stayed in the operating room 17 minutes less than younger patients. Older patients also showed no significant signs of complications after surgery.
Medicare patients, too, fared well from weight-loss surgery, also called bariatric or metabolic surgery. However, Medicare patients did stay a day and a half longer in the hospital.
“Our results indicate that bariatric surgery should not be denied solely based on age or Medicare status,” researchers concluded in the study.
