Mortality Following Bariatric Surgery Compared to Other Common Operations in Finland During a 5-Year Period (2009-2013). A Nationwide Registry Study

Purpose A concern regarding the safety of bariatric surgery may explain the fact that only a minor fraction of morbidly obese patients has access to it. This is a population-based, nationwide study reporting 30-day, 90-day, and 1-year mortality rates following bariatric surgery in comparison with mortality rates after other common operations in Finland. Materials and methods Patients undergoing surgery between January 2009 and December 2013 were included. Data on surgical procedures were obtained from the national hospital discharge registry, and cause of death was obtained from Statistics Finland. Results Inclusion criteria were met by 156,536 patients. Of these, 3918 underwent surgery for morbid obesity. Three patients (0.08%) died within 30 days following bariatric surgery. The 30-day mortality rate was lower only following prostatectomy. Compared with bariatric surgery, the hazard ratios (HR) for 1-year postoperative mortality were significantly higher for elective cholecystectomy (HR 2.38, 95% CI 1.39-4.08, p = 0.002), hysterectomy (HR 2.87, 95% CI 1.68-4.92, p < 0.001), knee arthroplasty (HR 2.23, 95% CI 1.31-3.81, p = 0.003), hip arthroplasty (HR 11.7, 95% CI 6.90-19.8, p < 0.001), colorectal resections (HR 27.5, 95% CI 16.2-46, p < 0.001), gastric resection (HR 53.0, 95% CI 30.2-93.2, p < 0.001), gastrectomy (HR 74.7, 95% CI 43.0-130, p < 0.001), and coronary artery bypass grafting (HR 30.7, 95% CI 17.4-54.3, p < 0.001). Conclusion Mortality rates following bariatric surgery are low and similar or lower than mortality rates following all other common elective surgeries.