Postoperative Follow-up After Bariatric Surgery: Effect on Weight Loss.

While adherence to long-term follow-up after bariatric surgery is a mandate for center of excellence certification, the effect of attrition on weight loss is not well understood. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of postoperative follow-up on 12-month weight loss using the Bariatric Outcomes Longitudinal Database (BOLD) dataset. Patients with complete follow-up (3, 6, and 12 months) were compared to patients who had one or more prior missed visits. There were 51,081 patients with 12-month follow-up data available. After controlling for baseline characteristics, complete follow-up was independently associated with excess weight loss ≥50%, and total weight loss ≥30%. Adherence to postoperative follow-up is independently associated with improved 12-month weight loss after bariatric surgery. Bariatric programs should strive to achieve complete follow-up for all patients.