sam1am
on 1/29/12 9:41 am

VSG on 09/08/09

I'm torn too. Her joy in her weight loss (and surgery) pretty much trumps everything (in this case), though. Her confidence is wonderful and she will not suffer teasing, depression, not playing sports, etc. I get you on the "it's hard to get a 12 yo to shower" let alone follow a regimen, but luckily the VSG is pretty regimen free (besides of course protein first, getting labs drawn regularly and supplementing where necessary). She seems like quite a mature responsible young girl and she has the resources with her Doctor being her uncle to have fantastic follow up.

In general, I'm not sure that I would agree with wls for 12 year olds., but this time, I think it works. I am thrilled for her!

Sandy
                "The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody  else up"
                              Mark Twain          Animation One

PatXYZ
on 1/29/12 12:02 pm

I think this is a very sensible answer. Think of everything that this surgery has avoided for this girl.

Given that we evolved large stomachs to allow us to stuff ourselves during times of feast to build up stores for times of famine, and that we now no longer lives under such cir****tances where we ever need to live off our fat stores, I wonder *****ally, couldn't benefit from a gastric reduction. Maybe if it was standard when people reached a BMI of 30 then many would never reach a 40+ BMI.

AnneGG
on 1/29/12 10:38 am

RNY on 07/15/10

Wow, way too young in my book! The body is still forming and growing- who knows what the long term effects will be? And when you think about the brain not being fully formed until a person is 25, good heavens the potential consequences!

I sure hope she has a happier adolescence and adulthood than she would being obese. And let's hope WLS is saved for fully formed bodies.

"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls the butterfly." Richard Bach

"Support fosters your growth. If you are getting enough of the right support, you will experience a major transformation in yourself. You will discover a sense of empowerment and peace you have never before experienced. You will come to believe you can overcome your challenges and find some joy in this world." Katie Jay

Susan1219
on 1/29/12 11:10 am - LA

Twelve seems way too young because the body is still growing and maturing. Even if she takes a multivitamin, will it be enough to support her rapidly growing and changing at this stage of her life. My brother was morbidly obese as a child but as he got into his teenage years, he got active and started watching what he ate and lost all his weight. The younger a person is (and other biological factors) decide how easy it is for them to lose weight. Back when I was 12, I could lose weight very easily...my metabolism did not change until I got older and developed health problems.
Unless it was a life or death situation, I would not want my 12-year-old going through weight loss surgery. I might would take him or her to a nutritionist and have him or her get active.

Lori P.
on 1/29/12 11:12 am - Kenosha, WI

RNY on 05/24/10

I am torn too...but perhaps this will save this young girl from all the physical and emotional damage many of us have had from our years of obesity. As someone else pointed out the sleave was probably the best choice given her age. Also, with her uncle being her doctor...well I dont think she will have any serious issues!

At her young age, she may be in the best positon to have life long lifestyle changes as she does not have the decades of dysfunctional food behavior to try to reverse.

SW 212 / Goal 130 / Current 130

(deactivated member)
on 1/29/12 12:03 pm - Canada

VSG on 08/16/13

she's 12. she'll adapt to the eating and it will be her way of life. nip it in the bud before she's 22, 100lbs more and has bad eating habits ingrained deeply into her brain.

Jackie McGee
on 1/31/12 10:21 am - PA

RNY on 02/24/09

Exactly - and for this reason, the sleeve really was the best choice. I hope she lives a long and happy life.

Proud mama of Mischa and Gabriel, both born post-op.

(deactivated member)
on 1/29/12 1:09 pm

VSG on 06/30/09

As I watched that slide show, I kept thinking of all the things she did not have to live through; the teasing, the bullying, the low self-esteem, the feelings of failure. I wonder how much happier her adolescent years were and how much more joy she felt every single day. I wonder how this has effected her personality. I am torn about offering this surgery to every obese child, but if it was me, I would have wanted her path rather than the obese girl's path in life.

MARIA F.
on 1/29/12 2:11 pm - Athens, GA

Yeah I actually did a post on that last year:

11 year old gets VSG in Mexico

I thought she was 11. Interesting situation. I think a lot of parents would be fearful of doing it, but she did have health issues already.

It's a difficult question: How young is too young? I certainly can not see making them wait til they are 18 though. :-(