Lucian Panait, MD, Graeme Rosenberg, Andrew J Duffy, MD, Kurt E Roberts, MD, Robert L Bell, MD. Yale School of Medicine
Introduction: Substantial and lasting weight loss is the major goal of bariatric surgery. A target of 50% excess weight loss (EWL) or more is considered successful if sustained. The EWL after laparoscopic Roux-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) depends on several variables, specifically compliance with diet and exercise. We hypothesize that the length of hospital stay (LOS) following LRYGB reflects patient motivation and thus correlates with EWL at 1 year.
Methods: We reviewed longitudinally collected data regarding patients who underwent LRYGB by a single surgeon at our institution between August 2002 and August 2010. Follow-up data at 1 year were available for 564 patients. The EWL at 1 year was correlated with the LOS.
Results: Patients had an average age of 42.7 years and an average BMI of 50.7. Length of stay was 1 day in 43 patients, 2 days in 344 patients, 3 days in 109 patients and 4 days or more in 66 patients. The EWL at 1 year decreased as LOS increased as illustrated in Table 1. Statistical significance was achieved when comparing the EWL of the groups with LOS of 3 days vs. 2 days and LOS of 4 days vs. 3 days respectively (p<0.05).
| LOS (days) | EWL at 1 year (%) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 69.5 ± 15.8 |
| 2 | 66.7 ± 16.3 |
| 3 | 61.9 ± 15.3* |
| 4 or more | 55.4 ± 17.4* |
*p<0.05
Conclusion: Length of hospital stay is an early predictor of EWL at 1 year. Timely intervention in the patients whose LOS is longer may lead to increasing success in achieving optimal weight loss.
Session Number: Poster – Poster Presentations
Program Number: P425
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