Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery in the Adult Population: What a Primary Care Provider Needs to Know

Obesity is a significant public health concern worldwide and a leading cause of preventable death and morbidity, but the management of this condition remains a challenge. Metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) is safe and currently has the most consistent and robust data among anti-obesity interventions for ameliorating obesity and its associated complications. Despite the benefits and safety of MBS, it is significantly underused. There are several proposed reasons for this underuse, one of which is a knowledge gap among primary care physicians, contributing to low referral rates. The purpose of this review is to summarize key points of the 2022 American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery/International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders guidelines regarding MBS, as well as to discuss indications, benefits and risks, most common types of MBS, and barriers to access, thereby increasing awareness of MBS among primary care physicians. This narrative review was based on articles found by searching PubMed from its inception until April 2024 for the terms sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass, and metabolic and bariatric surgery. Our search was confined to English-language publications, with emphasis placed on evidence derived from systematic literature reviews, meta-analyses, and randomized clinical trials whenever available.