Table 4.

Total costs and inpatient episodes of care for patients who were waitlisted (1 January 2008 to 31 December 2013) and then underwent primary bariatric surgery in the Tasmanian public hospital system expressed in 2016–2017 constant dollars for the 3 years before and after surgery, sensitivity (cost outliers omitted) and subgroup analyses (patients with diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease)

LAGB (n = 89)	Before surgery				After surgery
	− 3 years	− 2 years	− 1 years	Total/average (before surgery)	+ 1 year	+ 2 years	+ 3 years	Total/average (after surgery)
Episodes of care	38	60	82	180	72	88	34	194
Total costs	214,451	292,832	451,735	959,019	556,260	1,151,073	127,630	1,834,963
Average cost per episode of care	5644	4881	5508	5344 (average)	7726	13,080	3754	9548 (average)
Sensitivity analyses (cost outliers removed)
Episodes of care	37	60	81	178	72	85	34	191
Total costs	151,630	292,832	356,554	801,017	556,260	522,298	127,630	1,206,189
Average costs per episode of care	4099	4881	4402	4500	7726	6145	3753	6315
Total cost outliers removed	62,822a	No cost outliers	95,180b	158,002	No cost outliers	628,774c	No cost outliers	628,774
Subgroup analysis: patients with diabetes (n = 45)
Episodes of care	15	19	26	60	36	49	20	105
Total costs	51,390	130,572	188,691	370,653	209,879	261,059	87,856	558,894
Average cost per episode of care	3426	6871	7258	6177	5830	5328	4398	5322
Cost outliers removed	No cost outliers	No cost outliers	No cost outliers		No cost outliers	No cost outliers	No cost outliers
Subgroup analysis: Patients with CVD (n = 47)
Episodes of care	23	45	55	123	56	57	23	136
Total costs	159,697	244,209	385,074	788,981	464,750	494,283	82,919	1,041,951
Average cost per episode of care	6943	5426	7001	6414	8299	8671	3605	7661
Cost outliers removed	1a	No cost outliers	1b	2	No cost outliers	1	No cost outliers	1
Episodes of cared	22	45	54	121	56	56	23	135
Total costs	98,815	244,209	294,571	640,562	464,750	357,270	82,920	904,938
Average cost per episode of care	4491	5493	5455	5294	8299	6381	3605	6703

CVD cardiovascular disease, LAGB laparoscopic adjustable gastric band, LoS length of stay

^aCost outlier > $50,000, namely $62,822 neurology

^bCost outlier > $50,000, namely $95,180 multiple medical issues not surgical sequelae

^cCost outlier > $50,000, namely $376,930 multiple issues LoS 291 days; $114,878 brain tumour LoS 42 days; $136,967 bariatric surgery cost outlier surgical sequelae

^dCost outliers removed