Perioperative risks and safety of surgery for severe obesity

The National Bariatric Surgery Registry (NBSR) results reflect low perioperative risk for obesity surgery. Five deaths occurred within 40 d of operation in 5178 patients (0.1%). A subset of 3174 patients with complete information for complication and postoperative hospital stay was further studied. Females comprised 87% of the data set. Median values were determined for age, 37 y (18-70 y); operative weight, 121 kg (77-288 kg); and operative body mass index (BMI), 44 kg/m2 (29-91 kg/m2). Patients with no complications (89.7%) were reported to have a median postoperative stay of 4 d (2-23 d). The most severe complications were deep venous thrombosis (0.3%) and gastrointestinal leak (0.6%), with median postoperative hospital stay of 12 d (ranges 2-27 and 4-59 d, respectively). The most frequent complication reported was respiratory (4.5%), with median postoperative stay of 6 d (3-34 d). Median postoperative hospital stay for wound infection (1.6%) was 5 d.