Bariatric surgery

It is estimated that more than 5% of US adults are morbidly obese (body mass index higher than 40). Morbid obesity is associated with adverse health conditions including prolonged morbidity and early mortality while affecting people of lower socioeconomic means. A variety of surgical procedures have evolved over the past 30 years to address this problem with varying degrees of success and longevity. For those patients achieving dramatic weight loss, reconstructive cosmetic surgery is often necessary or desirable. Techniques to achieve this are described.