Serious Question: How Common is It that People Die From the Surgery?

Thank you all for your replies.  I know all of you had to contemplate all of these thoughts as you made your decisions.  I see the overwhelming majority are happy with their surgeries..but I guess..well, I am a mixture of extreme excitement that this is the way out for me, and fear of the unknown.  The truth is, the known path is not all that clear for me.  I don't yet have diabetes, but as my docs have said, its just down the road waiting for me, along with high blood pressure, colon cancer(huge family history of cancer!), my dad is dying of kidney failure, something he could have prevented if his diabetes was under control, and my mom was just dxed with skin cancer..not metastized(sp) that we know of, but I see these and though I try to control my eating, what I am missing, is what someone else mentioned, " a checks and balances system". I need help.  I know I do.  I know I have been on a diet since I was 7, thats over 22 years of dieting to no avail.  As my pastor says, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  Its disheartening to know that only 3 to 5% of people keep their weight off through diet and exercise alone.  I actually trust my doctor's practice and the hospital...they are all great..and they do a good job and helping you to weigh the pros and cons of surgery and they are great, its just the idea of going under the knife..you question, "Has it really come to this?"...And the answer of course, is yes...yes, it has.   My white cell count was up recently, and all I could do is keep praying that my bad habits hadn't caught up with me yet. God please help me to lose the weight before it causing some of those things listed above I dread.   I know I need to do this, and complications I can deal with, I just don't wanna die.  I know I am a good candidate being relatively young(29) and having no major co-morbidities except a BMI over 50, but still its just such a major decision.  makes me glad the approval process takes so long so you really have a chance to weigh the decision, ya know..

I struggled with this as well.  But my seventeen year old daughter summed it up best for me when I told her I was worried something would happen to me due to the surgery.  She asked me if I was going to stop driving in cars, or riding on planes, or walking down stairs, because we have known people who have died doing all of these things.  Weight loss surgery is a risk.  So is having a baby, hiking, skiing, swimming, visiting the ocean, riding a bike, stepping in and out of the shower.  Okay, you get my point.  Risk is inherent to life.  So I could not have the surgery, and die after walking under a tree and having a branch fall on my head (actually happened to the husband of someone I know, right in his front yard.)  We like to think we control everything, but we don't.  Weigh the benefits against the risks and see what you can live with.  My daughter helped me gain the courage to have the surgery, in hopes of having more life, better life. It's a chance I am going to have to take. Good luck to you and let us know what you decide!

I was scared out of my mind before surgery.  Go in and read my blog in March.  I cried and read the memorial came here a lot and boo hooed.  I wanted someone to say Brenda you will not die from the surgery.  Finally someone did and thank goodness they were right.  I see you are a religious person and you need to put to full use the power of prayer.   My health had gotten so bad that I rarely left my house.  It has not taken all of my problems away but I tell you they are so much better.  I can't believe how much better I feel.  Oh and on a side note I can't believe how much better I look.  I consider this surgery a life saver in my case.  I am thankful each and every day that I have not had any issues up until now.  Recently we have had several people that are out a couple of years who have had rather serous issues.  That does scare me and my heart goes out to them.  Still, knowing what I know now, I am very happy I had this surgery.  Please take a moment and visit my blog.  I tried to write about all of my feelings so people considering surgery would know it is a normal thing to feel scared out of your mind.  I don't believe you should ever have this surgery to look better but if you are sick and tired of being sick and tired it is worth looking into.  Please research all avenues of the different types of surgery.  Although you lose much slower with the lapband the vitamin defencies are not one of the side effects of the lapband.  I had rny and am very happy I had the rny.  It was the best procedure for ME.  You must research what is best for you.  Good luck brenda

Thank you all so much for your replies.  The fears sometimes overwhelm the excitement, hope and faith I have.

Steffan, you overwhelm me.  I went back and read your posts from March and they sound so much how I feel.  I, too, feel that God is leading me towards the surgery.  I know that where God leads you, He also leads you through it.  I have peace about the surgeon, the hospital, its just those niggling fears, those fears that creep up when I let them.  Sometimes they stop me, and I just say, "What am I doing?"...and then I feel God's reassuring peace.  I know that I will have this surgery..because I feel its His will for me.  Its just my human doubts trying to overpower my spirit.  You guys pray for me. Next thing I am doing is my psych eval.  its on the 20th of oct.  This process is actually going faster than I thought it would.  I don't have to do the supervised diet for my insurance...so I may be scheduled before the end of the year...thats so great..and scary.  Pray that I retain the peace and it eases out my fears.  I know God leads us and walks with us wherever we go..its just such a TOUGH decision.

I was told at my center that 1 in 100 -200 die

If they are a center of excellence they will know precisely what their statistics are.  They HAVE to for their CoE application and site visit.  Please, when they say "at least that they can remember" don't settle for that.  You could be the unlucky patient to fall into the 1%, but you don't even know how good they are or aren't with that type of comment. For what it's worth, the most serious complications typically happen to patients with serious health concerns going into surgery.  Not always, but that's been my experience

Looks like you got lots of great answers.  I just wanted to compliment you on your research, and taking this decision so seriously.  Good for you.  I wish you the best!