These days, when Hollywood is head-over-heels obsessed with plastic surgeries and tv shows like Extreme Makeover are unbelievably popular, it seems that 'gastric bypass' is beginning to rhyme with 'fast diet'.

Because gastric bypass helps people get slim without dieting, it seems like a fast fix. But before you ever decide to have gastric bypass surgery, you'd better think twice.

Gastric bypass surgery does have some potential complications and risks.

1. Leakage from where the intestine is reattached

2. Infections from the incisions

3. Blood clots that can spread to the heart and lungs

4. Internal hernias

5. Staples coming loose

Most importantly, when you have gastric bypass surgery, keep this in mind:

In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/294/15/1903), of 16,155 patients who underwent gastric bypass surgery, the rates of 30-day, 90-day, and 1-year mortality were 2.0%, 2.8%, and 4.6%, respectively.

According to the American Medical Association, men had higher rates of early death than women (3.7% vs 1.5%, 4.8% vs 2.1%, and 7.5% vs 3.7% at 30 days, 90 days, and 1 year, respectively).

Mortality rates were greater for those aged 65 years or older compared with younger gastric bypass patients (4.8% vs 1.7% at 30 days, 6.9% vs 2.3% at 90 days, and 11.1% vs 3.9% at 1 year, respectively).

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