To the Editor Ibrahim et al¹ report that for Medicare beneficiaries, reoperation after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) is common and costly. They suggest payers should reconsider coverage for the procedure. They do not reference strong comparative data on the alternative procedures. Most significantly, they report wide variation in outcomes. Across the 306 studied hospital referral regions, the reoperation rates varied from 5% to 95% (interquartile range, 13-39).¹ It is clearly a mix of good and bad. We believe that analysis of this variation is enlightening.

中文翻译：

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可调节胃束带后的结果

致编辑Ibrahim 等人¹报告说，对于医疗保险受益人来说，腹腔镜可调节胃束带 (LAGB) 后的再手术是常见且昂贵的。他们建议付款人应重新考虑该程序的承保范围。他们没有参考关于替代程序的强有力的比较数据。最重要的是，他们报告的结果差异很大。在 306 个研究的医院转诊区域中，再手术率从 5% 到 95% 不等（四分位距，13-39）。¹这显然是好与坏的混合。我们相信对这种变化的分析是有启发性的。