Chetan D Parmar1,2, Simon J McCluney3, Nelson Rodriguez4, Estuardo Behrens5, Muffazal Lakdawala6, Lilian Kow7, Scott Shikora8, Almino Ramos9. 1. Whittington Hospital, London, N19 5NF, UK. cparmar@nhs.net. 2. University College London Medical School, London, UK. cparmar@nhs.net. 3. Whittington Hospital, London, N19 5NF, UK. 4. Hospital Puerta de Hierro, Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico. 5. Bariatric Surgeon, New Life Center, Guatemala City, Guatemala. 6. Saifee Hospital, Mumbai, India. 7. Adelaide Bariatric Centre, Flinders Private Hospital, Bedford Park, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. 8. Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. 9. Gastro-Obeso-Center Institute of Metabolic Optimization, São Paulo, Brazil.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Bariatric medical tourism (BMT) is a rapidly expanding industry, with over 650 million people with obesity worldwide and total number rising by over 300% between 2003 and 2014. The overall health tourism industry is worth over $400 billion/year. METHODS: International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO) conducted a global survey to analyze the details of BMT and the perceptions of bariatric health care professionals (HCP) regarding BMT. RESULTS: A total of 383 bariatric HCP's with experience of 272,548 procedures responded from 65 countries. Seventy-three percent of respondents had managed BMT patients, whilst low cost of surgery was felt to be the driving factor in 77% of cases. The USA contributed the most patients travelling for BMT with 11.6%. Twenty-four percent of respondents stated that they had no access to adequate notes regarding the patient's operation, whilst 12% felt BMT is associated with a higher mortality. Only 49% of respondents felt that IFSO guidelines were followed by the operating surgeon. Sleeve gastrectomy was the commonly offered surgery and an overall mean operation cost was $8716. Nearly 64% of respondents felt BMT needed better coordination between practitioners, whilst almost 85% of respondents supported the idea of a forum to facilitate safe BMT worldwide. CONCLUSION: This IFSO survey has outlined the current BMT trends worldwide and highlighted areas of concern in the care of such patients. It has expanded our knowledge and should be used as a starting point to establish international forums to aid collaboration.
BACKGROUND: Bariatric medical tourism (BMT) is a rapidly expanding industry, with over 650 million people with obesity worldwide and total number rising by over 300% between 2003 and 2014. The overall health tourism industry is worth over $400 billion/year. METHODS: International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO) conducted a global survey to analyze the details of BMT and the perceptions of bariatric health care professionals (HCP) regarding BMT. RESULTS: A total of 383 bariatric HCP's with experience of 272,548 procedures responded from 65 countries. Seventy-three percent of respondents had managed BMT patients, whilst low cost of surgery was felt to be the driving factor in 77% of cases. The USA contributed the most patients travelling for BMT with 11.6%. Twenty-four percent of respondents stated that they had no access to adequate notes regarding the patient's operation, whilst 12% felt BMT is associated with a higher mortality. Only 49% of respondents felt that IFSO guidelines were followed by the operating surgeon. Sleeve gastrectomy was the commonly offered surgery and an overall mean operation cost was $8716. Nearly 64% of respondents felt BMT needed better coordination between practitioners, whilst almost 85% of respondents supported the idea of a forum to facilitate safe BMT worldwide. CONCLUSION: This IFSO survey has outlined the current BMT trends worldwide and highlighted areas of concern in the care of such patients. It has expanded our knowledge and should be used as a starting point to establish international forums to aid collaboration.
Entities:
Keywords:
Bariatric and metabolic surgery; Bariatric medical tourism; IFSO