Guidelines for the follow-up of patients undergoing bariatric surgery

Introduction
Bariatric surgery can facilitate weight loss and improvement in medical co-morbidities. It has a profound impact on nutrition and patients need access to follow-up and aftercare. NICE CG189 Obesity emphasised the importance of a minimum of two years follow-up in the bariatric surgical service and recommended that following discharge from the surgical service, there should be annual monitoring as part of a shared care model of chronic disease management.
Methods
NHS England Obesity Clinical Reference Group commissioned a multi-professional subgroup, which included patient representatives, to develop bariatric surgery follow-up guidelines. Terms of reference and scope were agreed. The group members took responsibility for different sections of the guidelines depending on their areas of expertise and experience. The quality of the evidence was rated and strength graded.
Results
Four different shared care models were proposed taking into account of variation in access to bariatric surgical services and specialist teams across the country. The common features include annual review, ability for GP to refer back to specialist centre, submission of follow-up data to the national data base to NBSR.
Conclusion
Clinical commissioning groups need to ensure that a shared care model is implemented as patient safety and long term follow-up are important.