This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Adolescents who had bariatric surgery did as well or better than adults
Study examined short- and long-term complications of adolescent vs. adult bariatric surgery.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
|
The number of bariatric procedures performed for weight loss has increased in recent years, and it is not just adults who are having the surgery.
More adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 are turning to bariatric surgery; the number of young people who underwent the procedure tripled between 2000 and 2003. These data prompted Randall S. Burd, MD, PhD, an associate professor of surgery and pediatric surgeon at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and colleagues to assess the short- and long-term outcomes of bariatric surgery in this age group.
Their analysis suggested that adolescents fare just as well, if not better, than adults after the surgery.
“Effective surgical intervention earlier in the life of a morbidly obese person may be preferable to delayed intervention after decades of exposure to the health effects of morbid obesity,” the investigators wrote in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
National Inpatient Sample
Burd and colleagues obtained data from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) between 1996 and 2003, which included 2,744 procedures performed on adolescents aged 12 to 19 years during that time period.
Using those data, the researchers assessed age, sex, length of hospital stay, mortality, hospital charges and major complications postoperatively and compared them with an adult sample (aged 20 to 64 years).
Though the number of bariatric surgery cases among adolescents has gone up, “the number of patients getting this procedure represents less than 1% of all patients undergoing bariatric procedures,” Burd said in an interview with Endocrine Today.
There were 771 procedures performed on adolescents in 2003. There was a more than threefold increase in procedures in 2003 than in 2000 (rate ratio, 3.3; 95% CI, 1.4-5.2). The increase suggests that parents and physicians are recognizing the health benefits of this obesity surgery, but questions still remain, according to the investigators.
Burd said there is much more public awareness and acceptance of bariatric surgery, attributing the newfound popularity of the surgery to the Internet and celebrities who have had a successful bariatric procedure.
| Adolescents vs. Adults Who Underwent Bariatric Surgery: 2003 Data | ||
Adolescents | Adults | |
Projected number of procedures | 771 | 104,702 |
Age range | 12-19 years | 20-64 years |
| Complications | 4.2% | 6.6% |
Length of hospital stay | 3.2 days | 3.5 days |
Cost | $30,804 | $36,056 |
Surgery results
Post-operation, adolescents appear to do as well as or slightly better than adults, Burd said. Hospital stays were shorter for adolescents (3.2 days vs. 3.5 days; P<.001); they also had fewer complications (4.2% vs. 6.6%) and no reports of in-hospital mortality. This might be attributable to the fewer comorbidities younger patients bring to the table, according to Burd.
Adults and adolescents were similar in other areas: majorities of both groups of patients chose gastric bypass surgery, had private insurance and underwent the procedure at similar hospital types.
It is difficult to assess long-term complications of bariatric surgery, Burd said. The NIS data do not include information on post-discharge complications, readmissions or out-of-hospital deaths.
“The bottom line is that we really don’t know what the short- and long-term outcomes of adolescents who undergo these operations,” Burd said, and this includes psychological issues. “Clearly, a 15-year-old’s ability to understand the long-term implications of a life-altering operation is certainly different from someone who is 45 years old.”
Burd hopes the results of this study will prompt additional study of the short- and long-term outcomes among teens undergoing bariatric surgery — a procedure that appears to be growing in popularity. – by Katie Kalvaitis
For more information:
- Tsai WS, Inge TH, Burd RS. Bariatric surgery in adolescents. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;161:217-221.