Safer Places For Weight-Loss Surgery
Weight Loss Surgery Channel, 16th August 2009
Latest studies show that hospitals offering higher patient volumes are safer for weight-loss procedures. The research was carried by Healthgrades and showed that patients have shorter stay and fewer complications in such hotels.
The survey rated the quality of weight-loss surgery services and studied the complications reported by patients. Hospitals with lower number of complications were awarder “stars” - the less complications, the more stars the hospital got.
The results showed that the hospitals with higher patient volume got more stars than hospitals with fewer patients. The study conclusion was that “patients who had weight loss surgery at the high volume hospitals were almost 70% less likely to develop post-surgical complications than patients getting the same procedure in lower-volume hospitals”.
High volume hospital patients had also shorter hospital stays and lower post-operative death rate.
This is a generalization only and patients have to bear in mind that some high volume hospitals are not so good whereas some small hospitals in the countryside offer great services. Hospitals vary in quality so it’s worth doing a research about both: the hospital and the doctors before making any decision.
