Impact of Preoperative Weight Loss on Postoperative Weight Loss after Sleeve Gastrectomy

Introduction: There is controversy regarding preoperative weight loss and its impact on the outcomes of bariatric surgery. We used a prospectively collected database to determine the association between preoperative weight loss and postoperative outcomes for patients undergoing sleeve gastrectomy (SG). Methods: We identified patients who underwent SG with 1-year follow-up from March 2015 to December 2015. We categorized patients as "high" (n = 96) and "low" (n = 96) preoperative percent weight loss group based on the median value for percent total body weight loss (5.1%). Bivariate analyses and generalized linear regression modeling were used to determine the association between percent preoperative weight loss and percent postoperative total body weight loss at 1 year. Results: The average percent preoperative weight loss for the cohort was 5.7% (±4.0%, median 5.1% and interquartile range 4.2). At 1 year, SG patients lost an average of 20.0% total body weight (p = 0.7). Preoperative weight loss was not independently associated with increased postoperative weight loss. Higher initial BMI correlated with higher postoperative percent weight loss (mean 50.8 vs. 46.4, p = 0.008). There were no differences in postoperative complications or readmission rates between groups. Conclusion: In our series of SG patients, preoperative weight loss was not associated with increased postoperative weight loss at 1 year.