Compliance with a multidisciplinary team meeting's decision prior to bariatric surgery protects against major postoperative complications.

BACKGROUND: Good surgical practice guidelines in France state that patients eligible for bariatric surgery must always be discussed at a multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting.

OBJECTIVE: Describe MDT meetings and assess their possible impact on the postoperative course.

SETTING: University Hospital, France, public practice.

METHODS: From April 2009 to March 2013, we included all patients reviewed in a MDT meeting before bariatric surgery. The primary endpoint was the case validation rate. The secondary endpoints were the number of MDT meetings, the number of submissions discussed or refused, outcomes in patients who underwent surgery in another center after refusal, or deferral in our MDT meeting.

RESULTS: Forty-nine MDT meetings were held representing 1099 case files (816 patients) that were discussed. Of the case files, 84.5% concerned first-line surgery, 14% concerned second-line surgery, and 1.4% concerned third-line surgery. Overall, 776 (70.6%) of these submissions were approved, accounting for 95% of the patients. Further investigation before a decision was required in 13.3%. Surgery was definitively refused in 1% (n = 11). For the 776 patients having undergone surgery, the complication rate was 10.1%, the major complication rate was 6%, and the reoperation rate was 3.2%. For the 11 patients for whom bariatric surgery was refused, 7 patients underwent surgery in another center (without MDT meetings). There were 4 postoperative complications (57.1%; 3 major and 1 minor).

CONCLUSION: The MDT meeting's decision is important for standardizing the management of obese patients before bariatric surgery. MDT meetings might help to reduce complication by optimizing patient selection and preoperative care.