Under the right circumstances, for an average or low-risk patient, the mortality risk is very low, ... The risk of complications is very substantial, and the patients need to be prepared.

I'm barely hanging on by a thread here now, ... If these people have to go, I cannot afford to keep this building open. There will be another boarded up building on South Main Street. Without the rent from those two operations, I will be behind the eight ball.

These studies demonstrate that there are vulnerable patient populations and potential additional costs associated with surgery but suggest that surgical volume helps mitigate these risks and costs.