Ten patients received compensation because they underwent “slimming surgery” without being overweight enough. It shows new study.

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The “slimming operation” took place on a failing basis. This is the most common reason why patients receive compensation after surgery for obesity.

It shows a study in Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association.

Behind it is a group of authors at the Center for morbid obesity in Health South-East. They have reviewed complaints after obesity surgery.

• 44 slimming surgeons were upheld in their complaint by the Norwegian Patient Injury Compensation.
• 10 of the patients did not meet the criterion of BMI (body mass index) to have obesity surgery. In other words, they were not overweight enough.

– Obesity operations on cheap sales

– These are surprising findings. The results were unexpected for us.

This is what chief physician Randi Størdal Lund at the Center for morbid obesity at the Hospital in Vestfold says.

– We thought errors and deficiencies in the treatment would be the reason why patients received compensation. Not that so many were underweight when they had surgery.
She points out that it is not good medical practice to offer patients obesity surgery when the BMI requirement has not been reached. Much else must be tried before this, including changing lifestyles.

– We have seen that obesity operations are advertised on cheap sales in the summer. That worries me a lot, she says.

Størdal Lund wants quality assurance of the subject area.

The patients who applied for compensation reported several negative reactions after the operation. They had chronic pain, difficulty eating, diarrhea, nausea, fatigue and weight gain.

But such symptoms were not enough to prevail. Then a failure in the treatment or follow-up must have been proven.

3000 are operated on every year

Doctors believe that it can take too short a time from contacting a clinic until you are operated on. Some clinics advertise with short or no waiting time.

The authors highlight three things that are important for a good result: Proper selection of patients, good preparation before surgery and good information.

It is also important that an interdisciplinary team follows the patients over time.
Interventions against morbid obesity have become common at Norwegian hospitals. Around 3,000 operations are performed annually. Of these, just under 2,000 are in the public sector and 1,000 in the private health service.

Most patients achieve good results after the procedure. However, there is still a fairly high risk of bothersome side effects and complications in the long run.