Gastric bypass best performed by high-volume surgeons - General Sessions - Brief Article

AORN Journal,  June, 2003  

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

A recent study of the link between patient volume and outcomes in the field of gastric bypass surgery found that risk of complications is significantly lower when the surgery is performed by a surgeon with greater experience performing the procedure, according to a March 21, 2003, news release from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. During this procedure, the surgeon creates a small stomach pouch to restrict food intake. He or she then attaches a Y-shaped portion of the small intestine to the pouch to allow food to bypass the lower stomach, duodenum, and first section of the jejunum, reducing the amount of calories and nutrients the body can absorb.

Results of the study showed that surgeons who had performed fewer than 10 bypass procedures per year had a 28% risk of adverse outcomes and a 5% risk of mortality. High-volume surgeons, in comparison, had a 14% risk of adverse outcomes and a 0.3% risk of mortality.

The study was conducted during a three-year period; 4,674 procedures were studied. Eighty-two percent of patients studied were female, 70% were Caucasian, 10% were African American, and 20% were from other ethnic groups. Data were collected from 73 hospitals and included 129 surgeons. Twenty-eight in-hospital deaths and 813 adverse outcomes occurred during the study period.

University of Pittsburgh Study Finds Surgery for Obesity Most Successful When Performed by the Most Experienced Surgeons (news release, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, March 21, 2003) http://www.upmc .edu/NewsBureau/medsurg1/gastric_bypass_study.htm (accessed 14 April 2003).

COPYRIGHT 2003 Association of Operating Room Nurses, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group