Dallas Bariatric Surgery Attorney

serving Dallas and Ellis County areas

Bariatric (Weight Loss) Surgery

Approximately 300,000 people in the United States die each year due to complications from obesity. Obesity is a cause of premature death second only to premature death from cigarette smoking. Obesity has been recognized as a chronic disease since 1985 and it has been estimated that approximately one-third of all Americans are obese.

Each year, thousands of morbidly obese people choose to have gastric bypass surgery. Stomach stapling (the common name for gastric bypass surgery) is the surgical creation of a small pouch in the stomach to restrict food intake to much less than could be eaten prior to the surgery. Typically, a stomach stapling patient will only be able to hold a cup of food or less at a single meal. Weight is lost rapidly because far fewer calories are consumed, which causes a decreased ability to absorb nutrients in food.

It is estimated that 140,000 people had gastric bypass surgery in 2004 and the number is growing each year. For many patients, this surgery is a lifesaver; others, however, are not so fortunate. Although successful gastric bypass surgery can lower a patient’s risk of illness and disease, medical mistakes during gastric bypass surgery can be deadly.

The death rate from gastric bypass surgery is alarmingly high: one out of 350 people. The number of people who suffer serious injuries due to medical malpractice during gastric bypass surgery and survive those injuries is even higher. These are dangerous operations, and the medical professionals who perform them know it.”

Risks of gastric bypass surgery:

• Infections
• Heart failure
• Respiratory arrest
• Uncontrollable infection
• Blockage of major arteries
• Kidney failure
• Permanent injury to the digestive tract
• Bleeding
• Gallstones
• Gastritis
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Nausea

Because of the large number of people suffering complications and dying after having gastric bypass surgery, the number of medical malpractice claims is increasing each year.

Common Types of Gastric Bypass Malpractice

• Inexperienced surgeons performing the procedure
• Failure to diagnose and properly treat leakage of gastric fluid
• Failure to diagnose and treat pulmonary embolism
• Failure to diagnose and properly treat gastric bleeding
• Performing surgery on patients who are at high risk for fatal complications
• Failure to properly monitor patients after surgery

Lap-Band® Surgery

Gastric bypass surgery is being overtaken by another form of bariatric surgery, the Lap-Band surgery. Lap-Band® Surgery is the process of placing a prosthesis known as the LAP-BAND® around the upper stomach to create a smaller stomach pouch that in turn limits the amount of food an individual can fit into their stomach. Lap-Band® surgery was approved by the FDA in 2001 and gained increasing popularity in the weight loss world from that point forward. The procedure itself is minimally invasive as lap band surgeons enter the stomach region via small incisions and use surgical instruments to insert the Lap-Band®. The main reason for having the surgery performed is so that the individual having it done will not only lose weight but keep the weight off as well. This is a new method that is recommended for those individuals who experience morbid obesity and have tried to lose the weight but have failed in their attempts to lose the weight and keep it off.

We understand that when you put your life in your doctor’s hands, you expect him/her to be worthy of your trust.  When medical professionals are not worthy of our trust, then people suffer.  At Polewski & Associates, we understand bariatric surgery and what can go wrong. If you suspect that you or someone you care about was injured because of medical malpractice during surgery, please give us a call. We can help.

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