Bariatric surgery waiting times in Canada.

BACKGROUND Severe obesity is reaching epidemic proportions throughout the world, including Canada. The only permanent treatment of severe or morbid obesity is bariatric surgery. Access to bariatric surgery is very limited in Canada. We sought to collect accurate data on waiting times for the procedure. METHODS We carried out a survey of members of the Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and Surgeons and performed a more detailed analysis within Quebec and at one Canadian bariatric surgery centre where a prospectively collected bariatric surgery registry has been maintained since 1983. RESULTS The survey response rate was 85%. All centres determined whether patients were eligible for bariatric surgery based on the National Institutes of Health criteria. Patients entered the queue as "office contacts" and moved through the queue, with the exit point being completion of the procedure. In 2007, a total of 6783 patients were waiting for bariatric surgery and 1313 procedures were performed in Canada. Assuming these trends are maintained, the calculated average waiting time for bariatric surgery in Canada is just over 5 years (6783/1313). The Fraser Institute and the Wait Times Alliance benchmarks for reasonable surgical waiting times vary from 8 weeks for cancer surgery to 18 months for cosmetic surgery. At one Canadian centre, 12 patients died while waiting for bariatric surgery. CONCLUSION The waiting times for bariatric surgery are the longest of any surgically treated condition. Given the significant reduction in the relative risk of death with bariatric surgery (40%-89% depending on the study), the current waiting times for the procedure in Canada are unacceptable.