[Provision of surgical treatment for the morbidly obese in Finland]

The number of and demand for surgical treatments of morbid obesity are quickly increasing in Finland. The resources and action models differ regionally. The position of antiobesity surgery among antiobesity treatments should be defined more clearly than is now the case in Finland. Also a decision should be made how these operations are included in the patient's treatment guarantee. There should be a public discussion on how to centralise the operations into sufficiently large units of expertise and availability of the treatment in various parts of Finland must be guaranteed. Treatment chains should be standardized, at the same time ascertaining adequate expertise of various health care providers.