Losing Weight for Surgery: Why does it matter?

It’s easy to understand why you’re upset.  Your doctor says that you need this surgery to get relief, but in order to have the surgery, you’ll need to meet them halfway and lose at least 20 pounds.

A lot of people have felt this frustration. It may be due to the seeming lack of compassion on the part of the doctor as they wave their hand in the air, tell you to lose weight -as if it’s just that simple- and then walk out of the room.  Clearly there is a gap in communication.  Let’s fill that gap, avoid unnecessary anxiety and set you up for having the best surgical outcome possible.

Filling the gap in communication

Obesity is very closely associated with other diseases.  Namely, heart disease, stroke, certain types of cancer, respiratory disease, diabetes and kidney disease.  The latest report from the CDC lists the top 10 leading causes of death (representing approximately 75% of all deaths) as follows:

1. Heart Disease
2. Cancer
3. Accidents
4. Respiratory Disease
5. Stroke
6. Alzheimer’s Disease
7. Diabetes
8. Influenza and Pneumonia
9. Kidney Disease
10. Suicide

Do you notice anything in particular?  How about the fact that 6 of the top 10 leading causes of death are the same diseases closely associated with obesity?  Now get this.  The CDC says that most of these causes of death are preventable!  This means that many of these people had it in their power to literally stop death.  They had more time to enjoy life, to spend time with their families and to impact the world in a positive way. 

Being Overweight is serious business

So, if you have obesity you are more likely to experience serious complications during and after surgery.  Dropping your weight by 5%-10% (about 20lbs – 30lbs for most people) before surgery has been shown to decrease complications by up to 18%.

Statistics clearly show that your weight increases the probability of having, or eventually developing, another disease process like diabetes -which makes it harder for your surgical wound to heal.  Being overweight means that you do not have the best chance at an optimal outcome.  This means that you increase your chances for making this problem worse than it is now, or maybe even for losing your life.

Your Doctor Wants Surgery to Go Well for You

Your doctor cares about you.  They want nothing more than for your surgery to be as successful as possible.  They are good at what they do and current evidence suggests that it is in your best interest to lose weight before surgery.  So, that is what they tell you to do.        

Question: Your doctor told you to lose weight before surgery. What recommendations did they make to help you accomplish that? You can leave a comment by clicking here.