Liaison psychiatry and bariatric surgery: double standards. What are the possibilities for the systematization of the pre-operative psychiatric assessment in Belgium?

BACKGROUND: In the context of health care in Belgium, the psychological or psychiatric opinion of a multidisciplinary team is required in the assessment of bariatric surgery candidates. In clinical practice, a wide variety of liaison psychiatry assessment methods exist.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: On the basis of a post-operative psychiatric comorbidity case report and a literature review on "liaison psychiatry and bariatric surgery" we aim to identify opportunities for the systematization of bariatric pre-surgery psychiatric evaluation.

RESULTS: The bariatric pre-surgery evaluation must be rigorous and founded on evidence-based medicine. On this basis, specific psychiatric criteria may be defined and researched in assessments. The issue remains for psychiatric comorbidities that develop after surgery and for which a preventive framework should be sustained in the liaison psychiatry approach.

CONCLUSIONS: The aim of the research is to support an improved systematization of the psychological assessments of pre-operative bariatric surgery candidates. We believe that systematic evaluation tools should be defined for the identification of possible absolute or relative contra-indications and that a preventive approach to post-operative psychiatric disorders should be included in this assessment.