American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery 2022 estimate of metabolic and bariatric procedures performed in the United States

Background: Metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS), despite being the most effective durable treatment for obesity, remains underused as approximately 1% of all qualified patients undergo surgery. The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery established a Numbers Taskforce to specify the annual rate of obesity treatment interventions utilization and to determine if patients in need are receiving appropriate treatment. Objective: To provide the best estimated number of metabolic and bariatric procedures being performed in the United States in 2022. Setting: United States. Methods: We reviewed data from the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program and National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. In addition, data from industry and state databases were used to estimate activity at non-accredited centers. Data from 2022 were compared mainly with data from the previous 2 years. Results: Compared with 2021, the total number of MBS performed in 2022 increased from approximately 262,893 to 280,000. The sleeve gastrectomy (SG) continues to be the most commonly performed procedure. The gastric bypass procedure trend remained relatively stable. The percentage of revision procedures and biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch procedures increased slightly. Intragastric balloon placement increased from the previous year. Endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty increased in numbers. Conclusions: There was a 6.5% increase in MBS volume from 2021 to 2022 and a 41% increase from 2020, which demonstrates a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. SG continues to be the most dominant MBS procedure.