Bariatric Surgery Safe and Effective for Seniors
July 2nd, 2009
Laparoscopic gastric bypass is just as safe and effective in patients over 65 years of age as it is in younger patients, according to the new study findings presented at the 26th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) on June 24, 2009.
“Bariatric surgery in the older population is underutilized because of a misperception that old age alone puts patients at higher weight loss surgery complication risk and mortality,” said Joseph Kuhn, MD, co-author and director of General Surgical Research at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, TX. “We found seniors can benefit just as much as younger people from bariatric surgery without taking on additional risk.”
Researchers from Baylor University Medical Center analyzed a prospective database of 100 patients over age 65, who had laparoscopic gastric bypass between January 2005 and July 2008, and compared safety and outcomes to a younger population. This is the largest reported study to date of laparoscopic gastric bypass surgeries performed on elderly patients.
Prior to surgery, older patients had a higher operative risk profile compared with their younger counterparts, including sleep apnea (45% vs. 34%), Type 2 diabetes (65% vs. 33%) and hypertension (81% vs. 57%). Two years after surgery, however, elderly patients had similar weight loss surgery results and low complication rates and short hospital stays compared with younger surgical patients.
Patients over age 65 showed 75.5 percent excess weight loss after two years, while patients under 65 showed 79.2 percent excess weight loss after two years. Post-operative complication rates were low in older patients compared to younger patients, including bleeding (1% v. 1.3%), pulmonary infections (3% v. 1.3%), cardiac (2% vs. 0.36%) and wound infections (1% v. 1.7%). No patents died in the two year follow-up period. Due to the age and overall health status of patients over age 65, researchers noted it was particularly interesting that length of hospital stay (1.9 vs. 1.3 days) and 30 day readmissions rates (6% vs. 7.4%) were also comparable.
About 26 percent of people 65 and older in the U.S. are obese and another nearly 40 percent are overweight (1), putting them at a higher risk for Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Since 1990, the prevalence of obesity has increased more than 50 percent in the elderly (2).
“The population is getting older and unfortunately more obese, so we will see a corresponding increase in the number of patients over 65 who are eligible for bariatric surgery and surgery needs to be an option for them,” said Christopher Willkomm, MD, study co-investigator from Baylor University Medical Center.
1. Rhoades, J. Overweight and Obese Elderly and Near Elderly in the United States, 2002: Estimates for the Noninstitutionalized Population Age 55 and Older. Statistical Brief #68. February 2005. Agency for Healthcare and Research Quality, Rockville, Md. http://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/publications/st68/stat68.pdf.
2. Physical Activity and Older Americans: Benefits and Strategies. June 2002. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Centers for Disease Control. http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/activity.htm.
Source: American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), New Study Shows Similar Benefits, No Additional Risks for Seniors Who Have Gastric Bypass, news release, June 25, 2009. Available at http://www.asmbs2009.org/. Accessed June 29, 2009.
Entry Filed under: Obesity Today, gastric bypass
