Bariatric Surgery: Are Comorbidities Reduced By This Procedure? - Dr. DeBarros

Dr. DeBarros:

Comorbidities is just, it’s another fancy word that doctors use for what really is called additional medical problems. Examples of comorbidities are high blood pressure, or hypertension, another name for that; diabetes, either type 2 or type 1 diabetes is a comorbidity; sleep apnea is a comorbidity; gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD or reflux is a comorbidity.

You know, so any other medical problem in addition to being overweight, morbid obesity, is considered a comorbidity, something in addition to or ‘co’ to the medical problem of obesity, okay?

So that’s a simple definition of that. In terms of reduction of comorbidities with bariatric surgery, that is the principle reason to do bariatric surgery. It’s reduction of comorbidities and decreasing weight.

We actually have to follow the comorbidities on every patient and we record them when the patient comes in, and we record the improvement or the completion or actually the eradication of that comorbidity as the patient loses weight and we have to document all that stuff.

Typically in our practice, we send very detailed letters to the primary care doctors as they follow the patients because you cannot have a patient on blood pressure medication with a normal blood pressure. That was a recipe for disaster, as well as diabetes – you can’t have a patient on diabetes medication with no diabetes and typically the LAP-BAND® and gastric bypass procedures have shown 73% or greater eradication of diabetes, type 2 diabetes.

About Dr. John J. DeBarros, M.D., F.A.C.S.:
Dr. John DeBarros is an experienced surgeon and board certified by the American Board of Surgery and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is a member of The American Society of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgeons, The American College of Surgeons, The Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons and the Maricopa Medical Society.

To Find A Weight Loss Information Session Near You, Click Here

Average Select ratingPoorFairAverageGoodExcellent

 

Rate This

More on This

• Bariatric Surgery vs Breast Reduction - Project Beauty
• Treatment of Acid Reflux
• Understanding Acid Reflux Symptoms
• Acid Reflux - Natalie's Story

Around the Web

Tags

• Bariatric Surgery
• Diabetes
• Heartburn (GERD)
• High Blood Pressure
• Sleep Apnea