The gastric bypass surgery statistics can be frightening, and vary from source to source. Finding accurate information is not easy, but is essential for making informed decisions when contemplating weight loss surgery.

The University of Pittsburgh, Department of Epidemiology conducted a study on the death rates of Bariatric surgery patients from 1995 to 2004, which is often cited and determined a 2.6% death rate, with less than 1% occurring within the first 30 days post-surgically.

Many studies look at the mortality rate of the untreated obese as compared to those with surgical intervention and find that the death rate for surgical patients reduces significantly over time. The New England Journal of Medicine reported on a study in August of 2007 conducted by the University of Utah, School of Medicine that tracked the patients and the control group long-term. After 7.1 years the mortality rates of the surgical patients decreased by 40% over the control group. Because obese people are more prone to suffer from other health ailments, the death rates from disease specific causes also decreased with surgical patients. For example, disease specific mortality decreased by 56% for coronary artery disease, 92% for diabetes and 60% for cancer.

Other gastric bypass surgery statistics include success rates. Some studies report a 75% to 80% success rate for gastric bypass patients, meaning that a healthy weight was achieved within the first year to 18 months after surgery. Patients who opt for gastric bypass surgery will have a 5% chance of a major complication and a 10% chance of a minor complication. Some examples and statistics of major complications include 2% will have gastrostomy problems and over 1% will have a staple line leak. Incision infections will affect 2% to 3% of patients. Longer term complications can include an incision hernia for 10% of gastric bypass patients and significant psychological challenges for 5% to 10% of patients.