11/03/2025
Eviva's very own Gaia Lukevich MBA, BSN, RN, CNOR, RNFA
Director of Clinical & ASC Operations
Was interviewed for this article about bariatric surgery.
After a decrease during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of bariatric surgery procedures performed in the United States rose from 256,000 in 2019 to 279,967 in 2022. Some of the bariatric surgery procedures within those statistics were performed in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs).
The recent increase in the use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) for weight loss has affected the volume of bariatric surgeries. A study in JAMA Open Network that compared the last six months of 2022 with the last six months of 2023 found a 25.6% decrease in the number of patients undergoing bariatric surgery versus a 132.6% increase in patients who were prescribed GLP-1 RAs. However, this decline in bariatric procedures may be temporary. A 2024 report projected a 15% decrease in inpatient bariatric surgery but a 13% increase in outpatient bariatric surgery from 2024 to 2034.
To learn more about outpatient bariatric surgery, the AORN Journal spoke with Gaia Lukevich, MBA, BSN, RN, CNOR, director of operations for Eviva, a freestanding bariatric surgery center in Shoreline, Washington. In its two ORs, the center’s personnel perform 300 to 400 bariatric procedures per year, including vertical sleeve gastrectomy, endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty, laparoscopic gastric bypass, and revisional surgery for patients who underwent a previous bariatric procedure that is no longer effective.
https://aornjournal.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aorn.14298
