Impact of Patient Follow-Up with a Multidisciplinary Team after Bariatric Surgery in a Middle Eastern Academic Medical Center

Background: Successful bariatric surgery involves expertise from a multidisciplinary team. However, compliance with postoperative follow-up is often suboptimal and may impact weight loss. This study aims to understand the relationship between follow-up and weight loss at a medical center in the Middle East. Methods: Patients who underwent primary bariatric surgery between September 2015 and December 2018 were retrospectively reviewed at the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. Our primary endpoint was the association between follow-up visits with surgery, dietician, primary care, endocrinology, and other subspecialties with percent total weight loss (%TWL) at 1 year postoperatively. Results: Our study included 329 patients. The relationships between endocrinology and other subspecialties at follow-up and %TWL over time were not statistically significant. However, there was a statistically significant positive relationship between %TWL over time and increased visits with the surgery, dietician, and primary care (p < 0.05). For patients with average surgery, dietician, or primary care follow-up, average %TWL at 12 months was 24.8%, 24.1%, and 21.6%, respectively. Conclusions: Compliance with postoperative follow-up is an integral part of success after bariatric surgery. Our study demonstrates that higher compliance with surgery, dietician, and primary care follow-up is associated with increased %TWL. Thus, efforts should aim to improve follow-up.