PAUL THODIYIL, MD

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Do I really need weight loss surgery?

Weight loss surgery can transform you.

Obesity is a serious disease that can result in disability and early death. Most people with an excess weight of 100 lbs or more will be unable to lose this weight on their own and keep it off.

Weight loss surgery on the other hand can help most patients lose between two-thirds and three-quarters of the extra weight and keep it off for a very long time, even indefinitely. And probably more importantly, it helps improve or cure metabolic complications of obesity. These are the key values of weight loss surgery.

And with good weight loss comes significant improvement in quality of live and improvement in life expectancy.

However, remember that weight loss surgery is never mandatory or an emergency. You should only proceed with weight loss surgery after you have really tried and failed to effectively and durably lose weight by other means.