With a reported 40,000 bariatric surgical procedures in 2001, and the numbers growing rapidly every year, there is clearly a need for a more effective prophylaxis from DVT and PE. The pentasaccharide fondaparinux is an anti-thrombotic agent used in the prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism after orthopedic or abdominal surgery. Its clinical value has been established in multiple randomized double blind studies in high-risk major orthopedic surgery where it showed a 55% greater reduction in DVT episodes compared to enoxaparin (Lovenox®) Although fondaparinux has been administered in obese patients in clinical studies for prevention of venous thromboembolism after orthopedic surgery and preliminary results show no influence of ABW on the clinical outcome, the pharmacokinetic properties of the drug in the morbidly obese have not been investigated. Previously published fondaparinux pharmacokinetic studies excluded patients whose body weight was more than 30% of ideal, with the heaviest group being 77.2+/-10.1 Kg and with a BMI of 25.7+/2.6 Kg/m2. Similar studies on low molecular weight heparins, such as enoxaparin and dalteparin, showed predictable anti-Xa activity with weight-based dosing in the morbidly obese.