Postoperative Outcomes, Weight Loss Predictors, and Late Gastrointestinal Symptoms Following Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy

Objective: To evaluate the outcomes, weight loss predictors, and gastrointestinal symptoms of patients after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). Methods: The postoperative medical status of the patients was obtained retrospectively using a questionnaire and was compared to existing medical data before the surgery. Results: We included 201 candidates, 178 patients completed mean of 3 years of follow-up. Mean excess body weight loss (%EWL) was 65.14% ± 15.74 at 6 months, 78.53% ± 20.28 at 12 months, and 74.32% ± 23.92 at 3 years after LSG. Older age (P = 0.018), higher baseline BMI (P = 0.003), and higher number of medications (P < 0.001) were negative predictors for EWL%. Total weekly hours of physical activity was found to be a positive predictor for EWL% (P = 0.008). Remission rates of co-morbidities were 83.5% for dyslipidemia (P < 0.001), 65.8% for hypertension (P < 0.001), 62.1% for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (P < 0.001), and 60.7% for gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) (P < 0.001). Late gastrointestinal symptoms were as follows: emesis in 25.9%, constipation in 24.7%, diarrhea in 4.5%, food intolerance in 22.5% and alopecia in 42.7% of the patients. Conclusion: Our study shows LSG as a potential tool in achieving almost 75% of EWL% with significant remission of co-morbidities, along with various late gastrointestinal symptoms.