Guest guest Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 Recently, our multi-disciplinary team has been discussing a group of patients to try to determine appropriateness for surgery. These patients are low functioning mentally but have a lot of family support. They may have been in special ed. in school or have brain damage with memory problems. Some live independently and others live with their parents or other support people. Some cook their own meals, some are afraid to use the oven. Some have BMIs in the 40's some in the 60's and 70's. In all cases, clearly obesity is impacting their lives negatively. There are several key ethical dilemmas: 1. Do we treat a primary diagnosis of morbid obesity with bariatric surgery? 2. Do we deny treatment knowing that these patients' obesity will eventually be their cause of death? 3. Can they truly consent to this elective procedure and is family support enough to manage them for a lifetime? I was wondering if other programs encountered this dilemma and what they have done. I have done a literature search and not found anything yet on mental development issues and bariatric surgery. Is anyone familiar with literature related to this specifically in bariatrics? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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