Is bariatric surgery worth its costs?

Formal economic evaluations of obesity surgery have not been reported in the medical literature to date. In this article, we briefly review the most important types of health economic evaluations, namely cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-utility analysis, and cost-benefit analysis. Bariatric surgery has the potential to substantially impact quality of life, morbidity, and mortality costs in patients with morbid obesity. Health economic studies that include these effects are needed.