ROCKVILLE, Md., Jan. 12 — Obesity surgery is a billion-dollar growth market for patients from ages 18 to 54. Bariatric surgery procedures for patients from the ages of 55 to 64 in the United States increased by 2,000% over a seven-year period, from 772 in 1998 to 15,086 in 2004, according to a report released by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) here. A smaller but increase in bariatric surgery also occurred among 18- to 54-year-olds over the same period, growing from 12,481 operations in 1998 to 103,097 in 2004, for a net 726% gain. This age group represented the largest segment of the obesity surgery market. Over the same period, deaths associated with the surgery declined by 78%, from 0.9% in 1998, to 0.2% in 2004, and hospital stays declined by nearly two day in each age group. The year 2004 also saw the first reports of bariatric surgery on adolescents, with 349 procedures for patients ages 12 to 17. ‘This report shows that more Americans are turning to obesity surgery and that an increasing number of younger people are undergoing these procedures,’ said AHRQ director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D. ‘As […]