Bariatric Surgeries on the Rise
Monday, March 31st, 2008
The annual number of bariatric surgeries in the United States has quadrupled in the last six years with over 200,000 performed in 2007 compared to fewer than 50,000 performed in 2001.
Much of the increase is attributed to the introduction of gastric banding in place of the much riskier gastric bypass procedure common five years ago.
Pundits point to the advertising and commercialization of the band by medical device makers and venture capitalists to make bariatric surgery the next big thing in elective surgery. The reason that there is a vast market in the U.S. is that weight loss programs and exercise have not stemmed the tide in the face of an obesity epidemic. Gastric banding is already the primary weight loss operation in Europe and Australia.
Advocates of the procedure also point to it as a growing treatment for diabetes, as studies show that diabetes remission closely tracks weight loss. Insurers are also beginning to cover the procedure with the Medicare program instituting coverage in 2006 and the Federal Tricare insurance program adding the coverage in 2007.