Contents

• Foreword
• Introduction
  • Variation in decision-making for surgical conditions
  • New developments that have influenced surgical decision-making
  • Challenges to improving surgical decision-making and the goals of this series
  • Influencing the key decision-makers: Patients, primary care physicians, surgeons, and policymakers
  • References
• The burden of obesity in the United States
  • Before surgery
  • During surgery
  • After surgery
  • Beyond surgery
  • Conclusions
  • Methods
  • References

Authors

Bradley N. Reames, MD, MS

Nancy J. Birkmeyer, PhD

Justin B. Dimick, MD, MPH

Philip R. Goodney, MD, MS

Nino Dzebisashvili, PhD

David C. Goodman, MD, MS

Kristen K. Bronner, MA

The Dartmouth Atlas Working Group

Leadership

Elliott S. Fisher, MD, MPH

David C. Goodman, MD, MS

Jonathan S. Skinner, PhD

John E. Wennberg, MD, MPH

Kristen K. Bronner, MA

Senior Authors and Faculty

John Erik-Bell, MD

Shannon Brownlee, MS

Julie P.W. Bynum, MD, MPH

Chiang-Hua Chang, PhD

Philip P. Goodney, MD, MS

Nancy E. Morden, MD, MPH

Jeffrey C. Munson, MD, MS

Thérèse A. Stukel, PhD

James N. Weinstein, DO, MS

Analytic and Administrative Staff

Thomas A. Bubolz, PhD

Donald Carmichael, MDiv

Julie Doherty, BA

Jennifer Dong, MS

Daniel J. Gottlieb, MS

Jia Lan, MS

Martha K. Lane, MA

Stephanie R. Raymond, BA

Sandra M. Sharp, SM

Jeremy Smith, MPH

Yunjie Song, PhD

Dean T. Stanley, RHCE

Yin Su, MS

Stephanie Tomlin, MPA

Rebecca Zaha, MPH

Weiping Zhou, MS