Bariatric Surgery Primer for Family Docs

With the growing interest in bariatric surgery not only are primary care practitioners faced with an increasing number of requests for referral to surgery but they are called upon to look after an ever increasing number of patients who have undergone bariatric surgery.

This is why, in the latest issue of the Canadian Family Physician, my colleagues and I have published a brief primer on bariatric surgery for the general practitioner.

In this article (available for free download and eligible for Mainpro-M1 credits – to earn credits, go to www.cfp.ca and click on the Mainpro link), we provide a succinct overview of the selection criteria for surgery, types of surgery, risks and benefits, long-term complications, as well as monitoring and management issue relevant to the care of these complex patients.

While it is impossible to summarize the vast and rapidly expanding literature on bariatric surgery in a short article, we do hope that this paper will provide a useful resource to anyone seeking a quick state-of-the-art overview of bariatric surgery.

AMS
Edmonton, Alberta

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Karmali S, Johnson Stoklossa C, Sharma A, Stadnyk J, Christiansen S, Cottreau D, & Birch DW (2010). Bariatric surgery: a primer. Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, 56 (9), 873-9 PMID: 20841586