The Bariatric surgery program at Counties Manukau draws on a population with a high prevalence of obesity. A large proportion of these obese individuals are high users of the public hospital system because they require treatment for complications of their obesity.
Presented for discussion are:

1. Short history of bariatric surgery at Counties Manukau DHB.
2. Special considerations of the public hospital system with respect to bariatric surgical practice.
3. How the current program works from the perspective of the patient and GP.
4. Summary of results for the first 100 patients at 1 year follow up.
5. Outline of current research projects.
6. Future research directions.