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Edward H. Livingston, MD

Arch Surg. 2007;142(10):929.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Is bariatric surgery dangerous? Recent reports from Washington State citing a 1-year mortality of 1.9%¹ and a 1-year death rate of 4.6% in Medicare beneficiaries undergoing bariatric operations² received widespread attention from the lay press. A seemingly high mortality due to bariatric procedures provided ammunition to the insurance industry, which responded by reducing or eliminating coverage. High mortality rates called into question the risk-benefit ratio for operations that remain the only proven modality for achieving sustained weight loss in the morbidly obese.

Omalu and colleagues report the outcomes from the state of Pennsylvania for bariatric surgery. Their finding of a 1-year postoperative mortality of 1% and a death rate of approximately 1% per year thereafter serves as an important benchmark for the expected outcomes after bariatric procedures. The power of these findings emanates from their being collected from all hospitals in one state where a great . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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RELATED ARTICLE

Death Rates and Causes of Death After Bariatric Surgery for Pennsylvania Residents, 1995 to 2004
Bennet I. Omalu, Diane G. Ives, Alhaji M. Buhari, Jennifer L. Lindner, Philip R. Schauer, Cyril H. Wecht, and Lewis H. Kuller
Arch Surg. 2007;142(10):923-928.
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