The 27 members of the Dominican Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (Sodocimeb) carry out around 1,250 bariatric surgeries a year with low levels of mortality and complications. The statement was made during the 37th International Congress of Dominican Surgeons by the president of the Dominican surgeons, Dr. Luis Betances. He said local mortality for bariatric surgeries is at around 0.1%, about the same as at a global level in the large medical centers.
“The problem with obese patients is that they are very delicate patients and have associated morbidities such as diabetes, as is the case with most patients. The patients are fragile and that is why multidisciplinary teams are needed,” he said.
He indicated that the obese that are operated on must be helped by a team of professionals so that these can change habits to sustain the weight loss.
He said medical tourism for bariatric surgery has been very successful over the past eight years.
He attributed a large part of the success in efforts by the Society to encourage best practices and normalize safety protocols for patients that has resulted in a decrease in mortality and complications.
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El Nacional
16 July 2019