Controversies in the Anesthetic Management of the Obese Surgical Patient

The prevalence of obesity, an important risk factor for various diseases, has increased markedly worldwide in recent years. The results of long-term dietary behavioural therapy, however, remain sadly inadequate, with a relapse rate of about 90%. Surgery is still the only effective treatment for these patients. The annual number of weight loss operations performed in the United States in the early 1990s totaled only about 16,000, but by 2005 the figure exceeded 200,000. The anesthetic care of sev