Kidney disease patients who would benefit from weight loss surgery may not need to worry too much about additional complications, according to the results of a recent study.
Weight loss surgery was once thought to be particularly risky for dangerously obese people who are also suffering from chronic kidney disease, but this new study has suggested that out of the 27,000 patients surveyed who have had bariatric surgery and kidney disease between 2006 and 2008 only five to ten percent experienced any serious complications.
These complications varied depending on the severity of the kidney disease. Roughly five percent of those surveyed who had normal kidney function or were in the early stages of the disease experienced complications. Nearly ten percent of those with more advanced cases of kidney disease experienced complications. As is the case with most studies of this kind, these findings are not totally conclusive. Additional research needs to be performed, but so far it would seem that the benefits of bariatric surgery outweigh the risks.
The researchers of this study believe that this five to ten percent rate of complications is indeed very good news for sufferers of chronic kidney disease. Kidney disease makes losing weight very difficult, so the prospect of these people seeking out a weight loss surgeon in Dallas or wherever they may live is still a viable one. This study does not imply that there are no risks to surgical treatment however, and it is important for patients with kidney disease to speak with their bariatric physician about their health before undergoing bariatric surgery.
