Can bariatric surgery be done as an outpatient procedure?

It has become increasing clear that some types of bariatric surgery can be performed as outpatient operations. This is currently limited to lap-band, lap-RYGB, and some lap-revision operations, but may soon be applicable to other bariatric procedures. In fact, most lap-band procedures are currently performed in ambulatory surgical centers that often lack the capacity for an overnight stay. Lap-RYGB has been recently reported with 23-hour outpatient admission requiring an overnight stay. Careful patient selection, surgeon experience, and integrating the appropriate perioperative care components are associated with clinical success. Surgeon recognition of these possibilities and patient demand are already pushing this care across the nation. Only time will tell how many other bariatric operations will be performed as outpatient procedures, but if the past is any indication of the future, this trend should continue to increase. The question thus is not whether bariatric surgery can be done as an outpatient procedure, but rather by whom and in what setting can patient outcome be optimized. In the end, rhetoric is rhetoric and data are data, and we should let documented patient outcome, the crown jewel of bariatric surgery, guide the future.