As guest editor of this issue on perioperative issues in PAH patients, Sean Studer, MD, MSc, convened a group of experts to discuss the implications of bariatric surgery for the pulmonary hypertension patient. Given the prevalence of obesity and its sequelae related to PH patients, it's not an uncommon topic. The approach to patient counseling, minimizing surgical risks, and working with the interdisciplinary team were addressed among the wide range of topics by clinicians on the front lines. Taking part in the conversation were Michael Mathier, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Program, and Associate Director, Cardiovascular Fellowship Program of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Dana P. McGlothlin, MD, Medical Director of Combined Heart-Lung Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support, Medical Director of the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, and Associate Director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Program at the University of California, San Francisco; Ramesh C. Ramanathan, MD, is a surgeon specializing at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Deborah J. Levine, MD, Associate Professor, Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine, Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, added comments from the pulmonary perspective to the transcript of the discussion.
