Thank You for a Wonderful First Year

Richard M. Peterson, MD, MPH, FACS, FASMBS, DABS-FPMBS, is the Co-clinical Editor of Bariatric Times; Professor of Surgery, UT Health San Antonio; Chief, Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas

Dear Colleagues,

I am honored to write this first editorial of 2023. I spent some time looking back over this last year, and a lot has happened. I know I said I’d hit the ground running last year, and I think I did that, and I may have even managed to keep my shoes from flying off. Although, for those of you who know me, I’m always in my cowboy boots, and they rarely seem to fly off. 

I had the pleasure of traveling to Las Vegas, Dallas, Chicago, Miami, and London, and even stayed in my hometown of San Antonio to attend many of our bariatric meetings this last year. That stands out as one of the better parts of 2022—reconnecting in person with colleagues. 

One of my earlier editorials of 2022 was on access to care and advocacy. One of the most monumental achievements was the joint release by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS)/International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO) of the Guidelines on Indications for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. The ASMBS is working on material for our members to provide to insurers to follow these new guidelines. Expanding access to individuals is critical. In this arena, we are now seeing some of the more progressive payors beginning to cover the single anastomosis duodenolileal bypass with sleeve (SADI-S), with some of them even providing the codes to use to get the approval. We also saw the endorsement of the one anastomosis gastric bypass (OAGB) by the ASMBS. 

Also, 2022 saw the first ever Focused Practice Designation (FPD) exam by the American Board of Surgery (ABS) partnered with the ASMBS, who administered the exam. Over 100 diplomates received their FPD-metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) designation this year. The next exam will be given on April 3, 2023.

While that isn’t everything that happened, it has made me reflect on the year. I’m looking forward to 2023 and what we will see advance and/or change in MBS. I am grateful and thankful for every one of you. I wish all of you the best for this upcoming year.

Sincerely,

Rich Peterson, MD, MPH, FACS, FASMBS, DABS-FPMBS

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