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Bariatric Surgery Helps Woman Lose 100+ Pounds, Get Pregnant

Obesity, Infertility Overcome With West Penn Hospital's Help

POSTED: 6:09 pm EDT July 30, 2009
UPDATED: 7:58 pm EDT July 30, 2009

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PITTSBURGH --

Obesity has become a crisis in America, but rarely is infertility associated as one of the health problems caused by it.

WTAE Channel 4's Sally Wiggin said couples who want to have a baby are increasingly turning to bariatric surgery as a solution. She visited West Penn Hospital's bariatric surgery program to meet Leslie Gore, one of the recent success stories.

Eighteen months ago, Gore was obese with little hope of pregnancy. Three weeks ago, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy. On Thursday, she introduced him to Dr. Daniel Gagne, the surgeon who made it possible.

"Most of the patients are healthier after the surgery, and women who want to become pregnant after the surgery and weight loss, they are more likely to have a healthier pregnancy," Gagne said.

"I was told I have less than a 20 percent chance of getting pregnant on my own," said Gore, who went from 295 pounds on her wedding day to her current weight of 148 pounds with Gagne's help.

Just 10 months after her bariatric surgery, Gore was showing her husband a positive pregnancy test.

"I said to my husband, 'What do you think about being a dad?' I could not describe the look on his face of total amazement," Gore said.

As a teenager, Gore was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome, which is associated with infertility and obesity. But doctors don't really know why obesity can lead to infertility.

"There is some reaction in the sex hormones with both men and women with fat," Gagne said. "As people lose weight, it affects those hormones that relate to fertility."

Tyrone Gore said the birth of his son changed his life.

"I could never have imagined how good this feels," Tyrone Gore said.

Leslie Gore's decision was not about fertility. It was about having a healthy life that she can now share with her son.

"I sleep better, able to take care of him better, and I look forward to vacations and amusement parks and things I didn't look forward to before," she said.

Gagne cautions that bariatric -- or gastric bypass, as it is called -- is only a weight-loss tool. To be successful, patients need regular check-ups with their surgeons to make sure they are getting the nutrition they need.