The safety of bariatric surgery has been of concern for many third party payors with creation of “centers of excellence”. Concern has been made over the safety of various hospitals and the need to certify inpatient hospitals with acute care facilities. We analyzed the past 120 cases consecutively performed weight loss surgeries in an outpatient surgery center.
Methods: All patients undergoing weight loss surgery in a surgery center were examined by one surgeon. All patients were enrolled in pre- and post- operative multi-disciplinary clinic. 120 consecutive cases were performed between a span of twelve months. All patients and follow up were recorded in their outpatient visits.
Results: All 120 patients underwent laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding without complications. One patient had an aborted procedure for liver cirrhosis. No patients were transferred to an acute care facility for complications. 95% of cases were performed in less than 45 minutes. All patients were discharged home 2-3 hours after the procedure. Age ranged from 18 to 71 years old. No re-operations have been performed on any of the ambulatory surgery center patients. No infections occurred in all of the patients undergoing surgery in the ASC.
Conclusion: Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASC) are a viable and safe alternative for laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. Patients were discharged home with no narcotics in 97% of patients. No re-admissions or re-operations were performed on patients upon discharge from the ASC. ASC are an economical alternative for patients undergoing weight loss surgery.