2026-04-17T06:23:34Zhttps://recercat.cat/oai/request

oai:recercat.cat:11351/127452025-10-24T10:40:13Zcom_2072_378070com_2072_378040col_2072_378092

2025-10-24T10:40:13Z urn:hdl:11351/12745 European recommendations from healthcare professionals and people living with obesity on safe practice for bariatric and metabolic surgery medical tourism: a modified Delphi consensus statement from EASO, IFSO-EC, and ECPO Dobbie, Laurence J. Birney, Susie Breen, Cathy Bryant, Sheree Clare, Ken Ciudin Mihai, Andreea Enquestes Obesitat - Cirurgia Decisió de grup Turisme mèdic ANALYTICAL, DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC TECHNIQUES, AND EQUIPMENT::Investigative Techniques::Epidemiologic Methods::Data Collection::Surveys and Questionnaires DISEASES::Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases::Nutrition Disorders::Overnutrition::Obesity Other subheadings::Other subheadings::Other subheadings::/surgery PSYCHIATRY AND PSYCHOLOGY::Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms::Psychology, Social::Group Processes::Consensus HEALTH CARE::Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation::Delivery of Health Care::Medical Tourism ANALYTICAL, DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC TECHNIQUES, AND EQUIPMENT::Surgical Procedures, Operative::Bariatric Surgery TÉCNICAS Y EQUIPOS ANALÍTICOS, DIAGNÓSTICOS Y TERAPÉUTICOS::técnicas de investigación::métodos epidemiológicos::recopilación de datos::encuestas y cuestionarios ENFERMEDADES::enfermedades nutricionales y metabólicas::trastornos nutricionales::hipernutrición::obesidad Otros calificadores::Otros calificadores::Otros calificadores::/cirugía PSIQUIATRÍA Y PSICOLOGÍA::conducta y mecanismos de la conducta::psicología social::procesos de grupo::consenso ATENCIÓN DE SALUD::calidad, acceso y evaluación de la atención sanitaria::prestación sanitaria::turismo médico TÉCNICAS Y EQUIPOS ANALÍTICOS, DIAGNÓSTICOS Y TERAPÉUTICOS::intervenciones quirúrgicas::cirugía bariátrica Bariatric and metabolic surgery; Medical tourism; Delphi consensus Turismo médico; Cirugía bariátrica y metabólica; Consenso delphi Turisme mèdic; Cirurgia bariàtrica i metabòlica; Consens delphi Background: Bariatric and metabolic surgery tourism (BMT) is becoming an increasingly popular route to treatment for patients living with obesity. Recent reports have highlighted that some patients travelling abroad for bariatric surgery have received inadequate care, fraudulent care, and, tragically, some cases have resulted in death. This study aimed to define consensus in Europe regarding safe practices concerning BMT. Materials and methods: IFSO-EC, EASO and ECPO initiated a task force to delineate safe practices in BMT. Two expert European panels were convened, one comprised of healthcare professionals (identified from EASO and IFSO-EC) and the other of patient representatives (identified from ECPO). The study utilized a modified Delphi consensus methodology, and 135 questions were administered. Surveys were conducted anonymously online, and consensus was defined as 70% agreement. Themes analyzed regarding BMT included regulation, pre-operative evaluation, operative care, post-operative care, advertising and online information. Results: One hundred and nineteen healthcare professionals and 88 patient representatives participated from 26 countries. The healthcare professional panel included 66 bariatric surgeons, 28 endocrinologists, 18 dietitians, three nurses, two psychologists, one general practitioner and one gastroenterologist. Three questionnaire rounds were conducted for the healthcare professional panel, and two were performed for the patient representative panel. Consensus recommendations were given across all themes relevant to BMT. These included evaluating and managing psychological health, sleep apnea, cardiovascular disease, liver health and dietetic assessment. The recommendations covered the requirements for regulatory standards, including surgeon accreditation and procedural volume. They also included recommendations regarding patient education, standardized operative care, online information provision, and follow-up. Conclusions: Through collaboration with healthcare professionals and patients living with obesity, we provide European recommendations regarding safe practices concerning BMT. Further evaluation is required regarding outcomes following BMT. These data, alongside the Delphi consensus recommendations, will inform BMT clinical guideline development. 2025-10-24T10:40:13Z 2025-10-24T10:40:13Z 2025-03-11T11:23:37Z 2025-03-11T11:23:37Z 2025-02 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/11351/12745 International Journal of Surgery;111(2) https://doi.org/10.1097/JS9.0000000000002171 Attribution 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Wolters Kluwer Health Scientia