More patients choosing to repeat obesity surgery

An estimated 15% came after having previous procedure

As more Americans turn to surgery to lose weight, more of them are also returning for a second operation because the first isn’t working.

Last year, an estimated 15% of the 252,000 obesity surgeries in the U.S. came after a previous surgery. That compares with 6% of the 158,000 surgeries in 2011, according to a surgeons’ group.

Weight-loss surgery has proved to be an effective way to treat obesity and related conditions like diabetes. Methods vary, but the operations generally shrink the stomach to limit how much people can eat without feeling sick.

Many people achieve significant weight loss, but results aren’t assured: It’s still possible to overeat, restrictive devices can slip and stomachs can stretch back out and patients can regain weight over time.

That was the case for Kerrie Dutton, who had her first surgery four years ago.

At first, Dutton said she couldn’t eat much without feeling sick, as expected. She quickly dropped about 100 of her 320 pounds. Then gradually, her stomach started stretching, and she was able to eat more again.

“Going into the second year, I noticed that my weight was creeping up pretty quick,” said the 29-year-old Dutton, who lives on New York’s Long Island.

Dutton’s first operation was a newer procedure that cuts away part of the stomach and leaves a narrow sleevelike pouch. In October, she ended up converting to a more established surgery that reduces the stomach substantially more.

In the U.S., guidelines generally reserve weight-loss surgery for the severely obese — people with a body mass index of 40 or higher — or those with a BMI of 35 and over who have a related health problem like diabetes or high blood pressure.

And the obesity problem in the U.S. isn’t getting better. About 4 in 10 American adults are obese and nearly 1 in 10 are severely obese, according to the latest survey by government researchers.

The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery doesn’t provide a breakdown on which procedures are leading to subsequent operations. Dr. John Morton, a past president of the group and surgeon at the Yale School of Medicine, said it’s primarily patients who got an adjustable and removable band that restricts the size of the stomach. The band’s popularity in the U.S. has waned significantly over the years.

ReShape Lifesciences, a medical device company that bought the LapBand system in 2018, said it doesn’t