Bariatric surgeon skill not linked to late outcomes

Editor's Note

Weight loss and obesity-related comorbidity outcomes at 1 year after surgery are unrelated to surgeon skill, this study finds.

Comparing patients who were operated on by surgeons in the top 25% for surgical skill scores and surgeons in the bottom 25%, there were no major differences in the following outcomes:

• Loss of excess body weight: 67.2% vs 68.5%, respectively
• Rates of resolved sleep apnea: 62.6% vs 62.0%
• Hypertension: 47.1% vs 45.4%
• Hyperlipidemia: 52.3% vs 63.4%
• Quality of life scores: 0.84 vs 0.83.

The findings suggest that long-term outcomes after bariatric surgery may be driven by factors other than a surgeon’s operative skill, the authors say.

Importance Measures of surgeons' skills have been associated with variations in short-term outcomes after laparoscopic gastric bypass. However, the effect of surgical skill on long-term outcomes after bariatric surgery is unknown. Objective To study the association between surgical skill and long-term outcomes of bariatric surgery.