Cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness of restrictive and hybrid bariatric surgery in Bahrain

Bariatric surgery is effective in treating severe obesity, which has a multitude of negative physiological and psychological health consequences for obese individuals. Choosing the type of bariatric surgery is challenging for both patients and health care providers, because both parties aim to increase a patient’s overall quality of life and life years while reducing costs both at present and over time. This study compared the reduction in patient obesity related physiological outcomes, cost and benefits to both patient and provider, quality-adjusted life years gained (QALYG), and cost per QALYG of a restrictive and hybrid type of bariatric surgery, Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy (LSG) and Laparoscopic Mini-Gastric Bypass (LMGB) surgery, respectively. Seventy-eight Bahraini patients underwent one of the two treatments based on the severity of their obesity, in a single Bahraini hospital. Physiological and psychological measures were taken both before surgery and up to one-year post-surgery. Results indicated that both types of surgery were cost-beneficial, but only LSG was found to be cost-effective.