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Postoperative Follow-up Compliance: The Achilles’ Heel of Bariatric Surgery

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Abstract

Regular postoperative follow-up appointments are critical for assessing the effectiveness of the operation and ensuring adequate nutrition, as well as for prompt identification of any complications. In this study, we aimed to determine compliance to follow-up appointments after bariatric surgery and examine factors associated with compliance. We performed a retrospective analysis of all patients who underwent bariatric surgery at the University of Illinois at Chicago between January 1st 2019 and December 30th 2019. Demographics, socio-economic variables (type of insurance, education, income, distance to hospital), type of consultation (in person vs. telehealth), and type of surgery were ascertained. Follow-up rates at the 3-month, 6-month, 12-month and 24-month visits were 61.9%, 41.2%, 29.6%, and 6.5%, respectively. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, White patients (OR 5.13 95% CI 2.03-12.95) and those using telehealth (OR 5.84, 95% CI 3.01 – 11.38) were significantly more likely to be compliant with follow-up. Strategies for improving patient adherence to postoperative follow-up are needed, particularly among persons from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds who also experience both a disparately high burden of severe obesity and poor access to quality care.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago, 840 S. Wood Street, Suite 435E, Chicago, Illinois, 60612, USA

    Francisco Schlottmann, Carolina Baz & Mario A. Masrur

  2. Department of Surgery, Hospital Alemán of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Francisco Schlottmann

  3. Institute for Minority Health Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, USA

    Amber Pirzada

Authors
  1. Francisco Schlottmann
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  2. Carolina Baz
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  3. Amber Pirzada
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  4. Mario A. Masrur
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francisco Schlottmann.

Ethics declarations

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent 

Informed consent was waived due to the retrospective nature of the study.

Conflict of Interest

Francisco Schlottmann has no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose.

Carolina Baz has no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose.

Amber Pirzada has no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose.

Mario A. Masrur has no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose.

Francisco Schlottmann, Carolina Baz, Amber Pirzada, and Mario Masrur have no conflicts of interest, financial ties or funding/support to disclose.

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Key points

• Compliance to follow-up appointments is very low among bariatric surgery patients.

• Less than 30% of patients are adequately supervised after one year of the operation.

• Strategies for improving patient adherence to postoperative follow-up are needed.

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Schlottmann, F., Baz, C., Pirzada, A. et al. Postoperative Follow-up Compliance: The Achilles’ Heel of Bariatric Surgery. OBES SURG 33, 2945–2948 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-023-06769-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-023-06769-y

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