A 31-year-old man died on Monday following complications after
undergoing gastric band surgery.
Ross Tay is believed to be the first person in Singapore to have
died from such complications.
He had the procedure performed at Alexandra Hospital, which is a
leading institution for such surgical weight management
procedures.
Also known as lap band surgery, it is only available to people who
are very overweight and who have not responded to changes in diet,
exercise regimen and medication.
Mr Tay, a martial arts instructor and tour bus driver, weighed 176
kilogrammes and was diabetic.
His family told Channel NewsAsia he first went for gastric band
surgery in March this year and suffered an allergic reaction to the
band.
He had it removed days after but was advised to try the procedure
again in July.
This time, surgeons found too much scar tissue to install the
band.
When he returned home, he complained that he was feeling unwell and
on July 29, was readmitted with a high fever.
Doctors operated on him a third time and removed infected tissue
and his spleen.
Mr Tay then fell into a coma and continued to bleed internally, so
he was operated on a fourth time.
He died on Monday from complications including blood
poisoning.
Mr Tay had just got married in March; now, his family members
expect the medical bills to come up to some S$20,000.
They say they are grateful for the staff who tried to save Mr Tay
in the last days of his life, but wonder if his death could have
been prevented.
Said his brother Melvin Tay, "Public awareness - we just want to
let others know this cannot be 100 percent. It was like a very
simple operation, we thought; we didn't expect that it would lead
to today's stage."
Gastric band surgery is a keyhole procedure that involves putting a
band around the upper part of the stomach to reduce appetite.
It is a measure of last resort, and the Health Ministry only allows
it for people with a body mass index over 32.
Doctors here say the risks from gastric band surgery are low
compared to other weight management surgery like stomach stapling;
in fact, the mortality rate is 1 in 2,000, or 0.04 percent.
Still, doctors say that as with any surgery there are risks
As for this case, Alexandra Hospital says it cannot comment until
the coroner's report, which is expected to be out in three to four
months.
Alexandra Hospital has performed some 300 gastric band surgeries
since 2001, with some patients losing up to 70 kilogrammes from the
procedure.
Patients who opt for this procedure have to go through a six-month
preparation period which involves tests and counselling.
The Health Promotion Board says the number of obese Singaporeans
has increased from 6 percent in 1998 to 6.9 percent in 2004.
Of these, 16 percent are at high risk of developing obesity-related
diseases. - CNA /ct