Obesity, a complex and chronic disease, attributed to a combination of genetics and environmental factors, affects millions of Americans and is ranked second to smoking as the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. This gap is diminishing, however, with experts opining that obesity will overtake smoking in the near future. Although lifestyle modifications have demonstrated good short term results, those patients who lack a strong support system and an actual lifetime plan to manage their weight and, who revert to previous poor eating behaviors, will, undoubtedly regain the weight that they struggled to lose. For this reason, as many as 340,000 people worldwide have turned to weight loss surgery. And, while this may be a suitable method of weight loss for those who are unable to sustain their willpower and weight loss goals, like any surgery, weight loss surgery is accompanied by side effects, as well as intraoperative and postoperative risks. And, with the increase in weight loss surgery numbers, the risks will inevitably increase.