Weighing in on bariatric surgery: who and when?

Over two-thirds of the United States is overweight or obese, and over 5% of the country is morbidly obese. Numerous public health preventative measures have been established to help battle this public health epidemic. Surgical obesity treatment, although now gaining popularity, has been an underutilized treatment option for obesity. Patients with a body mass index (BMI) of >40 or >35 kg m-2 with two or more comorbid conditions are eligible for bariatric surgery. Currently, the three most popular bariatric surgeries are Roux-en-y gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy and gastric banding procedures, all overwhelmingly performed laparoscopically. The purpose of this article is to discuss the heterogeneity of bariatric surgery. In our practice, among 834 patients operated over a 4-year period (2006-2010), patients were of an average age of 45 years (16-73 years), 80.4% were female patients, 82.5% had private insurance, 61% were White, 17% were Hispanic and 9% were Black. Patients had an average BMI of 46.2 kg m-2 (30.1-75.3 kg m-2), waist circumference of 133.6 cm (68.6-207.8 cm) and four preoperative comorbidities (0-11 comorbidities). Variation exists in surgeon practice patterns for preoperative weight-loss recommendations and complication rates based on surgery case volume. Despite variation in patient, surgeon and hospital characteristics, bariatric surgery outcomes are generally highly safe and effective.