The paper presents the chronological development of bariatric/metabolic
surgery in Vojvodina, the region with the largest incidence of obesity in
Serbia, and in which 13.2% of the population suffers from diabetes with a
mortality of 15.7 / 100.000, which is one of the highest rates in Europe.
Bariatric surgery began in the 1950s in the United States, with the
consecutive development of various restrictive, malabsorptive, and combined
procedures, which are intensified by the adoption of laparoscopic
techniques. After initial, European knowledge and preparation of obese
patients for surgery at the end of the 1970s, the first laparoscopic
bariatric/metabolic interventions started in Vojvodina at the Clinical
Center in Novi Sad in 2006. Next year, the multidisciplinary team for
bariatric surgery is being prepared in Slovenia and Austria, and the first
interventions are performed in 2008 at the Clinic for Thoracic Surgery of
the Institute in Sremska Kamenica, in the first place - laparoscopic sleeve
gastrectomy. Since then, bariatric/metabolic surgery at this Institute has
been performed continuously. By establishing international cooperation,
three courses were held with demonstration operations in bariatric/metabolic
surgery and the participation of eminent surgeons and other experts from the
country and abroad. Several bariatric surgeries were performed on children
(Children's Surgery Clinic in Novi Sad), as well as in Sremska Mitrovica.
Their own experience in this field has been published in the international
literature and through several regional meetings dedicated to metabolic
surgery.