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Introduction: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the health care systems around the world have been overburdened resulting in significant reduction of planned surgical procedures such as bariatric surgeries. The primary aim of this study is to assess the influence of the COVID-19 national lockdown in Poland on the short-term outcomes and intraoperative course of bariatric patients in a high volume IFSO certified bariatric center., Material & Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of 158 bariatric surgery patients, who underwent bariatric procedures either prior to or after the first national lockdown in Poland. The patients were categorized as pre-lockdown group and the post-lockdown group, each comprising of 79 patients., Results: The post-lockdown group had significantly lower operative weight (105.76 vs 114.25, p = 0.012) and BMI (36.99 vs 39.93, p = 0.005) compared to pre-lockdown group. The primary length of stay was significantly longer in the post-lockdown group (3.04 vs 2.44, p = 0.001). The post-lockdown group had significantly lower mean CCI score (1.90 vs 6.67, p = 0.046) and less short-term readmissions post-discharge (0 vs 8.86, p = 0.007) than pre-lockdown group., Conclusion: The post-lockdown group was found to have lower body weight and BMI on the day of the operation than those operated prior to the lockdown. These findings are conflicting to previous research assessing weight changes during lockdowns. Since the qualification criteria and order of operations were similar and pre-defined for both groups, possible explanations for these findings are higher patient motivation due to COVID-19 fears and longer preparation period due to elective surgery postponement. We encourage bariatric centers globally to assess the effect of national lockdowns on the patient profiles as well as the psychological and behavioral impact on the bariatric cohort., (Copyright © 2021 Asia Oceania Association for the Study of Obesity. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Coronavirus Disease 2019 is affecting most countries around the world, including Poland. In response, all elective surgeries have been postponed. We asked patients and surgeons when they want bariatric surgery to resume after pandemic. The main aim of the study was to determine patients' and surgeons' expectations about when to resume bariatric surgery regarding COVID-19 pandemic state., Methods: The study was conducted in two groups: Group 1-bariatric patients; Group 2-bariatric surgeons. Two online surveys were distributed., Results: A total of 895 patients, 299 before, 596 after surgery and 32 surgeons took part in survey. All patients and surgeons declared willingness to resume bariatric surgeries after pandemic and responded that they should be resumed immediately the World Health Organization announces end of pandemic (42%). The majority of patients before surgery answered that bariatric procedures should be resumed immediately the number of daily incidents begins to decrease (53%). In the patient group, current body mass index (p < 0.001) and contact with COVID+/quarantined persons (p < 0.001) had impact on the response to resumption of bariatric procedures., Conclusions: Patients opted to wait for bariatric surgery until the oncological queue has become shorter. Surgeons presented a readiness to resume both procedures in parallel.

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has reached Poland on March 4th, 2020 and undoubtedly affected all areas of life and medical care, including bariatric care. The study was planned to identify the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on bariatric care in Poland., Methods: The online survey was designed and distributed to bariatric surgeons. The questionnaire was divided into three parts: demographic characteristics of participants and their bariatric centers, examining the impact of the pandemic on the bariatric care and last part with questions about planned care after the pandemic., Results: 49 surgeons participated in the survey. 27 (55%) participants worked in hospitals transformed into COVID-dedicated units. Only 9 (18%) respondents declared uninterrupted bariatric surgery during a pandemic. 91% of surgeons declared continuation of bariatric care with telemedicine techniques. All participants declared a high willingness to resume bariatric surgery after the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and responded that bariatric procedures should resume immediately when World Health Organisation (WHO) announces the end of a pandemic regardless of oncological treatment. 90% of respondents believe that the pandemic will not affect the safety of bariatric procedures in the future., Conclusions: Access to bariatric care during the pandemic is limited and redirected to telemedicine. Surgeons are ready to resume bariatric operations immediately after the pandemic, but its end is difficult to determine. In surgeons' opinion pandemic will not affect the safety of bariatric surgery in the future. The extended waiting list and financial aspects will be the main issues after the pandemic.