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Study: Bariatric surgery riskier than previously thought

Credentialing Resource Center Connection , October 20, 2005

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A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association this week showed that patients who undergo bariatric surgery are more at risk for death related to the procedure than previously thought.

Researchers analyzed data from 16,155 Medicare beneficiaries who underwent some form of bariatric surgery between 1997 and 2002. The study found that 2% died in the first month after surgery, 3% died in the first three months following the surgery, and 5% died in the first year.

Patients who had their surgery performed by an inexperienced surgeon are 1.6 times more likely to die as those who had their procedure performed by an experienced surgeon, the study said. Cause of death included heart attacks, strokes, shock related to surgery, infections, malnutrition and bowel problems.

The study also found that men faced double the mortality rate risk of women, and that older patients were at a higher risk for death - at a rate nearly twice the death risk for seniors who undergo common procedures like coronary revascularization or hip replacement.

For more information, see the Kaiser Network web page at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=33204.

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