Chapter 24 – Mortality in Bariatric Surgery: A Focus on Prediction

Bariatric surgery is a safe procedure in appropriately selected individuals, and has been shown to improve outcomes in obese subjects. A number of predictive factors associated with short-term and long-term mortality after bariatric surgery have been identified and are discussed here. Although clinical risk scores for perioperative mortality have been developed, there has been less focus in identifying robust risk predictors for long-term mortality. New tools are therefore needed to better stratify patients into risk groups preoperatively, in particular for long-term outcomes.