Editor's Note Suboptimal postoperative outcomes are the primary driver of high overall costs of care after bariatric surgical procedures, this study finds. The study included morbidly obese patients who underwent laparoscopic vertical sleeve gastrectomy (74 patients) or laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (270 patients) at a single institution from 2010 to…

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Editor's Note Bariatric surgical patients in the Veterans Administration health care system lost substantially more weight than nonsurgical patients and sustained most of the weight loss in the long term, this study finds. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) induced significantly more weight loss than sleeve gastrectomy (SG) or adjustable gastric banding…

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Editor's Note In this study, the preponderance of medical evidence supports Center of Excellence accreditation for bariatric surgery centers. This meta-analysis analyzed 13 studies that included more than 1.5 million patients. Among the benefits of accreditation: 10 studies found a substantial benefit for risk-adjusted outcomes 6 studies reported a considerable…

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Editor's Note Patients who have bariatric surgery at nonaccredited bariatric surgical centers are 1.4 times likelier to have serious complications and more than twice as likely to die after the procedure compared to those who have surgery in accredited centers, this study finds. In this review of more than 1.5…

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Editor's Note This study finds that 10 years after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery, patients were able to maintain more than 50% of what they lost in excess body mass index and more than 25% of their original total body weight loss. The study also found reductions in diabetes, heart…

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Editor's Note Surgical skill in laparoscopic gastric bypass does not predict outcomes for laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, this study finds. Surgeons with skill ratings in the top, middle, and bottom quartiles for laparoscopic gastric bypass had similar rates of complications after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (top 5.7%, Middle 6.4%, bottom 5.5%). In…

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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…

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Editor's Note In this study of Michigan hospitals, overall complications in laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy patients varied widely, and serious complications were infrequent. The analysis included 8,693 patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy from 2013 to 2014 in 40 hospitals in the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative. Overall, 5.4% experienced complications, and…

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Editor's Note Bariatric surgery before total knee replacement (TKR) is cost-effective in improving outcomes in obese patients, this study finds. Researchers used a computer software program to compare the cost utility of two treatment protocols for patients who were morbidly obese and had advanced knee osteoarthritis. The model predicted that…

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Editor's Note Gastric bypass surgery was associated with improved long-term survival for patients aged 35 years and older in this study. In the analysis of nearly 16,000 patients—8,000 who had gastric bypass surgery and 8,000 who did not have surgery—researchers found mortality benefits varied by age. Those who were: younger…

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