THURSDAY, June 16 (HealthDay News) -- Bariatric surgery is an increasingly safe procedure and may reduce the risk of adverse cardiovascular events in morbidly obese adults, according to two studies presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, held from June 12 to 17 in Orlando, Fla.
Ninh T. Nguyen, M.D., from the University of California Irvine Medical Center in Orange, and colleagues reviewed data from the University Health System Consortium database from 2002 to 2009 to identify preoperative factors that may predict in-hospital mortality for patients who underwent bariatric surgery. Overall in-hospital mortality was 0.17 percent, and the death rate decreased from 4.0 per 1,000 bariatric operations in 2002 to 0.6 in 2009. Predictors of in-hospital mortality included being male (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 3.2), gastric bypass procedure (aOR, 5.8), open surgical procedure (aOR, 4.8), and presence of comorbidities (aOR, 6.0).
John D. Scott, M.D., from the Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center in South Carolina, and colleagues investigated the impact of bariatric surgery on the rate of myocardial infarction, strokes, transient ischemic attacks, and death in morbidly obese adults who underwent non-emergent surgery. Outcomes were measured for patients who underwent bariatric surgery, or had gastrointestinal or orthopedic surgical procedures. Significantly improved event-free survival was evident in patients within six months following bariatric surgery, and was sustained over time. Bariatric surgery was identified as an independent predictor of event-free survival.
"Bariatric surgery has long been considered an effective treatment for morbid obesity and type 2 diabetes, but mounting data suggest [that] bariatric surgery can also prevent a multitude of diseases, particularly heart disease and stroke," Scott said in a statement.
Press Release - Nguyen
Press Release - Scott
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