Weight reduction after bariatric surgery - Do results correlate with postoperative visit frequency?

Background

Consistent follow up after a bariatric surgery is considered vital to adequate and sustained weight reduction. This study examined the strength to which compliance with postsurgical appointments predicted an increase in total body weight loss percent (TBWL%) and change in body mass index (BMI) in a cohort of Illinois based surgical center patients.

Methods

Participants (n = 78) were patients with obesity who underwent bariatric surgery between 2019 and 2021. Patient preoperative weight and BMI, and postoperative weight and BMI at 3-month intervals for one year, and the number of visits were collected from chart review to calculate TBWL%, and change in BMI. Relationship between these factors and postoperative visit compliance were evaluated using linear regression to assess if it was a significant predictor of success.

Results

Follow up visit compliance had a weak positive association with increased TBWL% (Model R² = 0.134, B = 0.011, p = 0.004) and a minimally stronger association with increased change in BMI (Model R² = 0.229, B = 0.015, p = 0.0001).

Conclusions

Adherence with follow up visits was weakly related to improved weight reduction outcomes after bariatric surgery. Future investigations should consider how follow up visits can better influence a patient's success in sustaining achieved weight reduction.