Ten-years of bariatric surgery in Brazil: in-hospital mortality rates for patients assisted by universal health system or a health maintenance organization

BACKGROUND: Bariatric surgery is an option for sustained weight loss for the morbidly obese patient. In Brazil coexists the Unified Health System (SUS) with universal coverage and from which depend 150 million Brazilians and supplemental health security, predominantly private, with 50 million beneficiaries. AIM: To compare access, in-hospital mortality, length of stay and costs for patients undergoing bariatric surgery, assisted in one or another system. METHODS: Data from DATASUS and IBGE were used for SUS patients' and database from one health plan of southeastern Brazil for the health insurance patients. RESULTS: Between 2001 and 2010 there were 24,342 and 4,356 surgeries performed in SUS and in the health insurance company, respectively. The coverage rates for surgeries performed in 2010 were 5.3 and 91/100.000 individuals in SUS and health insurance respectively. The rate of in-hospital mortality in SUS, considering the entire country, was 0.55 %, 0.44 % considering SUS Southeast, and 0.30 % for the health insurance. The costs of surgery in the SUS and in the health insurance trend to equalization over the years. CONCLUSION: Despite differences in access and characteristics that may compromise the outcome of bariatric surgery, patients treated at the Southeast SUS had similar rate of in-hospital mortality compared to the health insurance patients.