People who consider weight loss surgery can reduce the risk of complications by choosing a surgeon and hospital with great experience by performing procedures, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association .
The study of results among more than 15,000 bariatric surgery patients in Michigan showed a very low rate of serious complications and death.Adele Weight Loss - Weight Loss Surgery: Experience Matters
But potentially threatening lifestyle complications occurred during double the rate in patients whose surgeries were performed by less experienced surgeons compared to the most experienced.
In the same way, the serious complication rate was almost twice higher for patients whose surgeries were carried out in lower volume hospitals compared to the facilities where bariatric surgery was performed more frequently.For low-volume surgeons working in low-volume hospitals, the serious complication rate was 4%, compared to 1.9% for high-volume surgeons working in high volume hospitals, Leads Nancy Jo Birkmeyer, PhD, Michigan University, Ann Arbor.
Surprisingly, accredited hospitals like centers of excellence (COE) in bariatric surgery had similar rates from serious complications and slightly worse surgical results than centers without designation, it says."In the absence of reliable data on results, patients should look for high volume hospitals and surgeons when considering bariatric surgery," says WebMD Birkmeyer. "If the hospital has a certification of Coe does not seem to care much."
About 220,000 people in the United States had weight loss surgery in 2009, according to the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). This is an annual increase more than ten times in surgeries in less than a decade.
In the newly published study, Birkmeyer and colleagues compared complication rates in 25 Michigan hospitals for three weight loss procedures: gastric bypass surgery, back bands and a relatively new procedure known as sleeve gastrectomy. All procedures were carried out between 2006 and 2009.
The study discovered that:
.
Birkmeyer credits at low complication rate for an aggressive quality improvement initiative across the state by Blue Cross-Blue Shield Michigan, which also funded the study.
About 95% of hospitals and surgeons that carry out bariatric surgeries in the state belong to the initiative, which includes a patient's complications record.
"Surgeons are three times a year and are really committed to improving quality," she says.
Surgeon Rick May, MD, which is a vice president with the Group of Health Care Group Group Group, says patients who consider weight loss surgery today have many resources to educate about procedures and facilities in which they are carried out.
.A recent health study that can co-authorship found a large difference in complication rates and results among nation hospitals, with higher volume facilities reporting smaller complications.
"There was an explosion of information to help patients chose the hospital and the right surgeon," says WebMD. "With bariatric surgery, people have time to check different options. They should talk to various surgeons and ask for patient references."
Mitchell Roslin, MD, who is head of obesity surgery at the Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, says patients are using the resources.
"Patients are doing their homework and asking questions," he says. "Probably there is no group of patients who use the internet for more information than mine."
He tells WebMD that he is not surprised hospitals with "Center of Excellence" credentials did not get better than other study hospitals.
"These procedures have become safer when surgeons have become more accustomed to doing them," he says. "These regulatory groups took credit for this improvement, but this credit is not deserved."
