Introduction: Morbid obesity is a chronic disease that reduces life expectancy and represents a major risk factor for other chronic illnesses.1,2 At the present time bariatric surgery remains the only therapy that produces significant and sustained weight loss in the morbidly obese. Surgical weight reduction can reverse or eliminate many obesity related comorbidities.3
Materials and Methods: We analyzed 434 consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass at our institution between August 2001 and October of 2006. All patients met NIH criteria for bariatric surgery and were operated on by a single surgeon. All data were collected prospectively. Chronic obesity related illnesses were documented and entered into the database. At one year follow-up, all comorbidites were analyzed and changes were documented.
Results: There were 387 females (89.2%) and 47 males (10.8%) with an average body mass index (BMI) of 48.3 kg/m2 (35-73). There were a total of 2044 comorbidities for an average of 4.71 comorbidities per patient. At one year after surgery the average BMI was reduced to 32 kg/m2. The reduction or elimination of comorbidities averaged from 87.8% for asthma to 100% for diabetes. Detailed analysis of 13 comorbidities will be presented.
Conclusion: In addition to significant and sustained weight loss, bariatric surgery provides an impressive resolution or improvement of all obesity related comorbidities.
References
1. Peeters, A; J Barendregt & F Willekens et al. Obesity in adulthood and its consequences for life expectancy: a life-table analysis. Ann Intern Med. 2003;138(1): 24-32.
2. Allison DB, Fontaine KR, Manson JE, et al. Annual deaths attributable to obesity in the United States. JAMA. 1999;282:1530–1538.
3. Christou, N; J Sampalis & M Liberman et al. Surgery decreases long-term mortality, morbidity, and health care use in morbidly obese patients. Ann Surg. 2004;240 (3): 416-23.
Session: Poster
Program Number: P034
