Structured Abstract
Background
Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy has recently surpassed gastric bypass and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding as the most common weight-loss procedure. Previously, substantial concerns existed regarding variation in perioperative safety with bariatric surgery. This study aimed to assess rates of perioperative complications for laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy across hospitals and in relation to procedure volume.
Study Design
We analyzed 8,693 patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy from 2013 through 2014 across 40 hospitals in the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative. Mixed-effects logistic regression was used to assess hospital variation in risk- and reliability-adjusted rates of overall and serious 30-day complications and their relationship with hospital annual stapling procedure volume (gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy).
Results
Overall, 5.4% of patients experienced perioperative complications. Adjusted rates of overall complications varied three-fold across hospitals, ranging from 3.6% (95% CI, 1.9–6.8%) to 11.0% (95% CI, 7.7–15.5%). Serious complications occurred in just 1.2% of patients and varied minimally. In this analysis, hospital volume was not associated with overall or serious complications. The 1 hospital with significantly lower overall complication rates was high-volume (≥125 procedures/year); however, of the 4 hospitals with significantly higher complication rates, 3 were medium-volume (50–124 procedures/year) and 1 was high-volume. The remaining hospitals were not significantly different than the cohort mean.
Conclusions
Serious complications among patients undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy were relatively infrequent. Rates of overall complications varied widely across Michigan hospitals enrolled in a quality collaborative, although this variation was unrelated to volume standards required for accreditation as a comprehensive bariatric surgery center.