Trends in Bariatric Surgical Procedures

To examine trends for elective bariatric surgical procedures, patient characteristics, and in-hospital complications from 1998 to 2003 in the United States. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was used to identify bariatric surgery admissions from 1998-2002 (with preliminary data for 12 states from 2003) using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, codes for foregut surgery with a confirmatory diagnosis of obesity or by diagnosis related group code for obesity surgery. Annual estimates and trends were determined for procedures, patient characteristics, and adjusted complication rates. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Trends in bariatric surgical procedures, patient characteristics, and complications.

The estimated number of bariatric surgical procedures increased from 13,365 in 1998 to 72,177 in 2002 (P