Bariatric surgery in Poland in 2017-2022: retrospective analysis of public health system open data.

BACKGROUND

There little known about bariatric surgeries performed in Poland. We aimed to analyze trends in bariatric surgery performed in public health system in Poland.

METHODS

Data was obtained from the National Health Fund (NFZ) database of aggregated statistics for the years 2017-2022. We retrieved data about hospitalizations during which bariatric surgery was performed. We performed descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

From 2017 to 2022, the number of bariatric surgeries in Poland's public healthcare system increased from 3,278 to 5,580, with a temporary decline in 2020. The number of procedures per 100,000 residents increased from 8.5 in 2017 to 14.7 in 2022. The majority of surgeries (73.3%) were performed on women. Sleeve gastrectomy was the most frequently reported procedure. The median duration of hospitalizations was 3 days. The in-hospital mortality rate was equal to 0.057.

CONCLUSIONS

Between 2017 and 2022, bariatric surgeries in the Polish public healthcare system increased by about 70%, with a temporary drop in 2020. Nevertheless, Poland still reports fewer procedures per 100,000 residents compared to other developed countries. A key limitation of this study is the absence of data from private sector.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40200-025-01600-0.