Bariatric surgery training in the United States

Abstract

Background To provide evidence of the status of bariatric surgical education in the accredited surgery training programs in the United States. Methods A questionnaire was sent by mail to the 251 accredited surgery residency training programs, including the 48 minimally invasive surgery fellowship programs, in the United States. Results There was a 100% response to the questionnaire. Of the 251 surgery residency training programs and 48 minimally invasive surgery fellowship programs, 185 (73.7%) and 43 (89.6%) performed bariatric surgery, respectively. The open Roux-en- Y gastric bypass was the dominant procedure (85.1%), followed by laparoscopic Roux-en- Y gastric bypass (60.9%), in the residency programs; the laparoscopic Roux-en- Y gastric bypass was the dominant procedure (70.1%) in the minimally invasive fellowship programs. Conclusions Bariatric surgery has been mainstreamed into accredited training programs in the United States.