Bariatric surgery volume is an important indicator of patient outcomes, according to a multi-year, multi-state study conducted by Health Grades, an independent healthcare ratings organization. The full study results, which were released last week in HealthGrades Fourth Annual Bariatric Surgery Trends in American Hospitals Study, identifies the best performing hospitals, including a comparison of complication and mortality rates, and patient lengths of stay between highly and poorly rated hospitals.

Individuals who are considering bariatric surgery may find this report helpful as they compare and choose a bariatric program. Since bariatric surgery is an elective procedure, patients should fully research their options, including bariatric programs and bariatric surgeons as well as the various types of weight loss surgery options, before making a decision. All of these choices are important factors that can affect the surgical outcome and weight loss results of bariatric surgery.

Overall, the study shows that, on average:

• Higher volume programs and five-star rated hospitals have better patient outcomes than lower volume and one-star rated hospitals (The study identified a high volume hospital as one with more than 375 cases over three years and a low volume hospital as one with less than 75 cases over three years).
• Patients at top-rated hospitals were 67% less likely to experience a serious complication than patients at poorly rated hospitals.
• Patients at top-rated hospitals spent less time in the hospital than patients in one-star hospitals.
• While inpatient mortality is an uncommon complication, the death rate at the top-rated hospitals was one-third the rate of poorly rated hospitals.

For this study, researchers analyzed the outcomes of 153,355 patients who had undergone the most common bariatric surgeries, including gastric bypass surgery, gastric banding, malabsorptive procedures, and combination malabsorptive/restrictive procedures, during the years 2005, 2006, and 2007 in hospitals across 19 states that provide information on all patients.

As the amount of individuals who choose to undergo bariatric surgery increases each year, it is important for them to have information, such as this Health Grades study, which can help them in their decision making process.