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. 2022 Sep;92(9):2129-2136.
doi: 10.1111/ans.17768. Epub 2022 May 23.

Bariatric surgery in a public hospital: a 10-year experience

Ahmad Aly  1   2 , Calista Spiro  1 , David S Liu  1   2   3 , Krinal Mori  1 , Hou K Lim  1 , Ruth Blackham  4 , Raymund J Erese  5
Affiliations

Bariatric surgery in a public hospital: a 10-year experience

Ahmad Aly et al. ANZ J Surg. 2022 Sep.

Abstract

Introduction: Obesity is common and adversely impacts quality-of-life and healthcare cost. In Australia, less than 10% of bariatric surgeries are performed in the public sector. This study reports our 10-year experience from a high volume public bariatric service which delivers multi-disciplinary care for primary and revisional procedures with mid- to long-term follow-up.

Methods: A prospectively maintained database of all patients who underwent bariatric surgery from January 2010 to January 2020 at a tertiary metropolitan hospital was analysed. We analysed patient demographics, comorbidities, perioperative outcomes, 2- and 5-year weight loss as well as comorbidities reduction.

Results: A total of 995 patients underwent 1086 (674 primary and 412 revisional) bariatric procedures with mean age of 46.9 years, mean BMI of 49.6 ± 9.1 kg/m2 and 92% patients with ≥1 obesity-related co-morbidity. Length-of-stay was longer for revisional than primary surgery (5.6 vs. 3.5 days). Major complication rate was 4.2%. Overall, % Total body weight loss (%TBWL) for primary surgeries at 2 years was 26.2%, and for revision surgery was 17.4%. At 2 years follow-up, treatment was ceased or reduced in 65% of diabetics, 29% of hypertensive patients and 69% of sleep apnoea patients.

Conclusion: This study confirms that bariatric surgery in Australia can be delivered effectively in resource constrained public health system with outcomes similar to private sector.

Keywords: bariatric surgery; outcomes; public hospital.

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Comorbidity distribution in public bariatric patients.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Bariatric surgery caseload from 2010 to 2019.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Primary bariatric procedures from 2010 to 2019.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Percentage total body weight loss. Paired comparison of mean %TBWL between procedures with Bonferroni adjustment demonstrate significant difference (P < 0.05) for all time points except first and final timepoints.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Change in HbA1c% at 2‐ and 5‐years by procedure relative to baseline.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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