In the study, the first of its kind focused only on laparoscopic surgeries in a U.S.-based cohort, the team compared the impact of adjustable gastric banding (AGB) and Roux-en-Y gastric Bypass (RYGB) on health care use and costs. The study is published in JAMA Surgery.
The study matched approximately 5,000 patients receiving each type of surgery from a national claims data set according to age, sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic variables, co-morbidities, and year of procedure, as well as baseline costs, emergency department visits, hospital days and prescription drug costs. Patient data was examined for three years post-surgery. While previous studies have documented increased risk for early complications with RYGB, there have been no comparisons of total costs over time for these two procedures in U.S.-based commercial claims data.
The team found that both AGB and RYGB patients had downward trends in prescription and total medical costs after surgery. However, by year 3, RYGB patients had total annual costs that were 16% lower than AGB patients.
Lead author Kristina Lewis, MD, MPH, SM, former General Internal Medicine Fellow in the DPM and currently at Kaiser Permanente, notes that the study results may help patients, clinicians and policymakers weigh the pros and cons of these surgeries.
To access the abstract online, click here.