Success stories on the gastric bypass are everywhere, but how about the fatalities from the procedure? Barely mentioned in the magazines and newspapers, there is a serious risk carried by the gastric bypass and that risk is a 1 in 50 chance of you dieing within 1 month of the surgery ? that certainly puts the frights up me. The study by Washington University is shocking to say the least. The figure is apparently four times as many fatalities when patients are in the hands of inexperienced surgeons.

As the money the private surgeries make on the procedure is rising ? over 150,000 gastric bypasses we're performed in 2004, the claims for compensation from distraught family members rise too. Is gastric bypass surgery worth the risk?

My personal opinion is that if you're morbidly obese and your health is in immediate danger and your doctor suggests it as an option then research, research and research again. The Internet's a big place and there are many places to go and talk to professionals in the real world. If you do decide to go ahead with gastric bypass surgery then you must find out all of the statistics and the experience of the surgeon or surgeons that will be operating on you.

After all, you wouldn't want to gamble with your life with odds of 1 in 12, would you?

Article by Beverley Brooke, visit her section on the gastric bypass at her website for more information on gastric bypass surgery http://www.healthandfinesse.com/gastric-bypass.html