Quality varies in bariatric surgery

The risk of complications such as bleeding and infection in patients undergoing an increasingly popular weight-loss surgery varies drastically based on which hospital performs it, a large study released last week found.

The study of 86,520 procedures found that patients undergoing so-called bariatric surgery at a highly rated hospital are 66% less likely to suffer from a complication, including bleeding, pneumonia and heart problems, than at a poorly rated hospital.

“Bariatric surgery is the only currently effective treatment we have for the morbidly obese,” said Samantha Collier, senior vice president of medical affairs at Health Grades Inc., which sells its ratings on hospitals’ quality measures and performed the study.

“This shows clearly that not all hospitals perform it with the same level of quality.”