The following report by medical editor Marilyn Brooks first aired Oct. 18, 2005, on Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m.

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For some obese people, stomach surgery may be the only way to lose weight.

But a new study says the risk of dying from this surgery is higher than previously thought in certain patients.

The bottom line is that bariatric surgery is not for everyone, especially if they have other medical problems or are elderly.

At 44, Julia Hill weighed 400 pounds. Her diabetes was totally out of control.

Today, she's healthier and can play with her grandchildren.

"I've lost a total of 76 pounds," said Hill.

She lost it in four months, after undergoing bariatric surgery. Surgeons made her stomach the size of an egg and made a shortcut with the intestine, so her body gets and uses less food.

"The operation provides patients with the opportunity to lose tremendous amounts of weight in a very short period of time," said Dr. David Flum of the University of Washington.

But it is major surgery. Flum and colleagues wanted to know about the risk of death for Medicare patients, those over 65, or younger patients, like Julia, with a health disability.

"While people are told the risk, the risk of death is anywhere between one in 500 to one in 1,000. In reality, for people on Medicare, the risk of death is more like one in 50," said Flum.

For elderly people, the risk of death is even higher -- higher than other operations, such as open-heart surgery.

"The best results come when patients go to surgeons who have done many of these operations in such high-risk groups, such as people who are over the age of 65," said Flum.

Julia certainly knew the risks. But, for her, the benefits weighed in more.

"If you have illness from your weight, like your heart problems and diabetes and everything like that, you know you're going to die anyway. So, I would think it would be worth the chance to lose the weight and to live your life out," said Hill.

Researchers found out about these deaths by studying 16,000 Medicare patients who had bariatric surgery between 1997 and 2002.