Obesity Surgery Increases by 600 Percent

May 31, 2006 — -- She was once diabetic and asthmatic, but now Louanne Hoffman is healthy and happy -- thanks to obesity surgery.

"I was in a wheelchair ... now I haven't had to use my asthma medicine for six months," said Hoffman, a woman from Virginia who had obesity surgery about 2½ years ago.

There are many people out there with stories similar to Hoffman's. In recent years, obesity surgery has increased by nearly 600 percent, according to a new study from the American Journal of Public Health. The number of patients in the United States receiving gastric bypass surgery increased from about 14,000 in 1998 to more than 82,000 in 2002.

There are several reasons for this increase, such as increased coverage from insurance companies and improved surgical techniques that mean less pain and risk for patients. It also hasn't hurt that various celebrities, including Carnie Wilson and Al Roker, have increased the visibility of obesity surgery in recent years.

"As more and more people -- including celebrities -- have [obesity surgery], it becomes socially acceptable. [Then others can] 'join the club' rather than feeling like social outcasts," said Dr. David Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine and an ABC News contributor.

But patients like Hoffman say the main reason they undergo surgery is to find relief from obesity-related health problems. She's now back at work after having been on disability leave.

"My life has really changed, and I am still adapting to it," she said.

Once considered a fairly risky surgery, recent advancements have lowered the complication rate for patients.

These operations use minimally invasive techniques that help prevent complications, such as infections and hernias, from large incisions, and also mean a faster recovery and less pain, said Dr. Bradley Needleman, director of bariatric surgery at Ohio State University.

Along with such new techniques, bariatric surgeons are routinely monitored by hospitals, hospital associations and their adherence to state guidelines.