Physician follow up is unnecessary: PAs are all we need

Background: Currently there are mixed opinions on how much the surgeon should be involved with the follow up visits of patients following bariatric surgery. Some believe that surgeons should be present for the patients throughout the weight loss journey while others believe that this attention is not necessary and can be delegated to competent office staff. In our practice we began to delegate follow up to the PAs in 2016 and have now decided to compare weight loss outcomes to see if surgeon follow up helps patients lose more weight.