Global 30-Day Morbidity and Mortality of Primary Bariatric Surgery Combined with Another Procedure: The BLEND Study.

BACKGROUND: No robust data are available on the safety of primary bariatric and metabolic surgery (BMS) alone compared to primary BMS combined with other procedures. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to collect a 30-day mortality and morbidity of primary BMS combined with cholecystectomy, ventral hernia repair, or hiatal hernia repair. SETTING: This is as an international, multicenter, prospective, and observational audit of patients undergoing primary BMS combined with one or more additional procedures. METHODS: The audit took place from January 1 to June 30, 2022. A descriptive analysis was conducted. A propensity score matching analysis compared the BLEND study patients with those from the GENEVA cohort to obtain objective evaluation between combined procedures and primary BMS alone. RESULTS: A total of 75 centers submitted data on 1036 patients. Sleeve gastrectomy was the most commonly primary BMS (N = 653, 63%), and hiatal hernia repair was the most commonly concomitant procedure (N = 447, 43.1%). RYGB accounted for the highest percentage (20.6%) of a 30-day morbidity, followed by SG (10.5%). More than one combined procedures had the highest morbidities among all combinations (17.1%). Out of overall 134 complications, 129 (96.2%) were Clavien-Dindo I-III, and 4 were CD V. Patients who underwent a primary bariatric surgery combined with another procedure had a pronounced increase in a 30-day complication rate compared with patients who underwent only BMS (12.7% vs. 7.1%). CONCLUSION: Combining BMS with another procedure increases the risk of complications, but most are minor and require no further treatment. Combined procedures with primary BMS is a viable option to consider in selected patients following multi-disciplinary discussion.

Standardization of the One-anastomosis Gastric Bypass Procedure for Morbid Obesity: Technical Aspects and Early Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: One-anastomosis gastric bypass (OAGB) has become an accepted metabolic/bariatric surgery procedure. This study aimed to describe our center's standardized OAGB operative technique and report early (≤30 d) safety outcomes in patients with severe obesity. METHODS: The medical records of patients who had undergone either primary (n=681, 88.0%) or revisional OAGB (n=93, 12.0%) were retrospectively evaluated. Patient demographics, operative time, length of hospital stay, readmissions, reoperations, and ≤30-day morbidity and mortality rates were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 774 consecutive patients with severe obesity (647 female, 83.6%) underwent OAGB between January 2016 and December 2021. Their mean age was 36.2±10.8 years (range: 18 to 70 y) and mean body mass index was 42.7±4.2 kg/m 2 (range: 17.2 to 61 kg/m 2 ). Mean operating time was 52.6±19.9 minutes (range: 25 to 295 min) and length of hospital stay was 1.6±0.9 days (range: 1 to 9 d). Early postoperative complications occurred in 16 cases (2.1%), including 2 leaks with an intra-abdominal abscess (0.3%), bleeding (n=3, 0.4%), acute kidney failure (n=1, 0.15%), urinary tract infection (n=2, 0.3%), and intensive care unit stay (n=4, 0.5%). Seventy patients (9.1%) were readmitted, and re-laparoscopy was performed in 1 patient (0.1%). There was no mortality. CONCLUSIONS: In the very early term, OAGB was a safe primary and revisional metabolic/bariatric surgery operation. Consistent performance of a standardized OAGB procedure contributed to low rates of morbidity and mortality in the hands of metabolic/bariatric surgeons with good laparoscopic skills at a high-volume center.

Effect of bowel resection on TLR signaling during intestinal adaptation in a rat model.

BACKGROUND: Bacterial overgrowth is common complication of short bowel syndrome (SBS) and is a result of an impaired gut barrier function. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is crucial in maintaining intestinal epithelial homeostasis, participates in a vigorous signaling process and heightens inflammatory cytokine output. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of bowel resection on TLR4 signaling in intestinal mucosa in a rat model. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to one of the two experimental groups of eight rats each: Sham rats underwent bowel transection and re-anastomosis and SBS rats underwent 75 % small bowel resection. Rats were killed on day 14. Bacterial translocation (BT) to mesenteric lymph nodes, liver, portal blood and peripheral blood was determined at the kill. The expression of TLR4, MyD88 and TRAF6 in the intestinal mucosa was determined using real-time PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: SBS rats demonstrated a 100 % BT to lymph nodes and to liver (Level I), 80 % translocation to portal blood (Level II) and 60 % translocation to peripheral blood (Level III) at day 7 as well as a 100 % BT to lymph nodes and liver, and 40 % translocation to peripheral blood at day 14. Microarray expression profiling demonstrated that most of the TLR signaling-related genes were up-regulated in resected rats compared to control animals. SBS rats showed a significant increase in TLR4 and TRAF6 mRNA in jejunum and ileum, TLR4 and MyD88 protein expression in jejunum and ileum, and a significant increase in the number of TLR4 and TRAF6 positive cells (immunohistochemistry) compared to sham animals. CONCLUSIONS: In a rat model of SBS, elevated intestinal BT is associated with a stimulated TLR4 signaling.

Treating postlaparoscopic surgery shoulder pain with acupuncture.

Objective. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of acupuncture on postlaparoscopic shoulder pain (PLSP) which is a common side effect in patients undergoing abdominal laparoscopic surgery. Methods. Patients with moderate to severe PLSP in spite of analgesic treatment, which were referred by the medical staff to the Complementary-Integrative Surgery Service (CISS) at our institution, were provided with acupuncture treatment. The severity of PLSP and of general pain was assessed using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) from 0 to 10. Pain assessment was conducted prior to and two hours following acupuncture treatment. Acupuncture treatment was individualized based on traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis. Results. A total of 25 patients were evaluated during a 14-month period, from March 2011 to May 2012. A significant reduction in PLSP (mean reduction of 6.4 ± 2.3 P < 0.0001) and general pain (mean reduction 6.4 ± 2.1 P < 0.0001) were observed, and no significant side effects were reported. Conclusion. Individualized acupuncture treatments according to traditional Chinese medicine principles may improve postlaparoscopic shoulder pain and general pain when used in conjunction with conventional therapy. The primary findings of this study warrant verification in controlled studies.

Effect of ozone on intestinal recovery following intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury in a rat.

BACKGROUND: Growing evidence suggests that ozone (O3) protects the host against pathological conditions mediated by reactive oxygen species by increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of O3 on intestinal recovery and enterocyte turnover after intestinal ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury in rats. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four experimental groups: (1) sham rats underwent laparotomy; (2) sham-O3 rats underwent laparotomy and were treated with an ozone/oxygen mixture intraperitoneally and intraluminally (50 %/50 %); (3) IR rats underwent occlusion of both superior mesenteric artery and portal vein for 20 min followed by 48 h of reperfusion, and (4) IR-O3 rats underwent IR and were treated with an ozone/oxygen mixture similar to group 2. Intestinal structural changes, Park's injury score, enterocyte proliferation and enterocyte apoptosis were determined 48 h following IR. Western blot was used to determine ERK and Bax protein levels. A non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA test was used for statistical analysis with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Treatment of IR rats with O3 resulted in a significant increase in mucosal weight in jejunum (70 %) and ileum (32 %), mucosal DNA (twofold increase) and protein (35 %) in ileum, villus height and crypt depth in jejunum (61 and 16 %, correspondingly) and ileum (31 and 43 %, correspondingly) compared to IR animals. IR-O3 rats also had a significantly lower intestinal injury score as well as a lower apoptotic index in jejunum and ileum compared and IR animals. A significant increase in cell proliferation rates in IR-O3 animals was accompanied by increased levels of p-ERK protein. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with ozone prevents intestinal mucosal damage, stimulates cell proliferation and inhibits programmed cell death following intestinal IR in a rat.