Metabolic remission precedes possible weight regain after gastric bypass surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Some patients regain weight to a variable extent from 1 year after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB), though rarely reaching preoperative values. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether, when, and to what extent metabolic remission occurs. METHODS: Fasting metabolite and lipid profiles were determined in blood plasma collected from a nonrandomized intervention study involving 148 patients before RYGB and at 2, 12, and 60 months post RYGB. Both short-term and long-term alterations in metabolism were assessed. Anthropometric and clinical variables were assessed at all study visits. RESULTS: This study found that the vast majority of changes in metabolite levels occurred during the first 2 months post RYGB. Notably, thereafter the metabolome started to return toward the presurgical state. Consequently, a close-to-presurgical metabolome was observed at the time when patients reached their lowest weight and glucose level. Lipids with longer acyl chains and a higher degree of unsaturation were altered more dramatically compared with shorter and more saturated lipids, suggesting a systematic and reversible lipid remodeling. CONCLUSIONS: Remission of the metabolic state was observed prior to notable weight regain. Further and more long-term studies are required to assess whether the extent of metabolic remission predicts future weight regain and glycemic deterioration.

To Get Back on Track: A Qualitative Study on Childless Women's Expectations on Future Fertility Before Undergoing Bariatric Surgery.

BACKGROUND: In Sweden, 4700 women seek bariatric surgery annually, many of those being nulliparous. Anovulation is common among obese women, but bariatric surgery is not considered a treatment for infertility. The aim of this study was to explore the motives of women in fertile age for seeking bariatric surgery and their expectations on future fertility. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A qualitative study with semi-structured interviews with childless women (n = 12) aged 20 to 35 years. Interviews were conducted 1 to 3 weeks prior to surgery, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed with thematic analysis. RESULTS: "To get back on track" was identified as a master theme with 3 underlying subthemes, with the following headings: "A better me," "A fertile me," and "A pregnant me." The participants were hoping that weight-loss would make them feel more content with themselves, break isolation, and make it easier to find a partner. The participants considered fertility to improve after bariatric surgery, mainly based on stories from other patients of bariatric surgery. Having a child was expressed to be of great importance to them. CONCLUSIONS: Even though obese young women do not seek bariatric surgery for fertility reasons alone, there is a general perception of enhanced fertility after surgery, which is regarded as positive and important.

Alcohol Consumption in Obese Patients Before and After Gastric Bypass as Assessed with the Alcohol Marker Phosphatidylethanol (PEth).

INTRODUCTION: Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) causes more rapid and enhanced absorption of alcohol. RYGB patients have also been reported to use more inpatient care for alcohol-related disease than do patients after other bariatric procedures. The present study was designed to evaluate alcohol consumption level before and after gastric bypass using a sensitive and specific alcohol biomarker. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two separate consecutive groups of patients and a group of healthy blood donors, as reference group, were included in the study. Alcohol intake was assessed using the alcohol marker phosphatidylethanol (PEth) at preoperative baseline and at 1 and 2 years postoperatively. In the first patient group (n = 133), neither surgeon nor patient was informed about the results of PEth testing. In the second group (n = 214), PEth results above 0.30 µmol/L were considered to indicate excessive alcohol consumption and led to preoperative alcohol counseling. The groups were followed for 2 and 1 year, respectively. RESULTS: PEth results were significantly lower in both patient groups at baseline as well as postoperatively compared with the reference group. In both patient groups, there was a significant increase in PEth values at postoperative follow-up compared to baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Several physiological changes postoperatively have to be considered when interpreting PEth results in obese patients with dramatic weight reductions. According to results for PEth, obese patients treated with bariatric surgery would seem to have lower alcohol consumption compared with the reference group. Although slightly increasing their PEth values postoperatively, the RYGB patients did not reach the PEth values of the reference group.

Mucosal glucagon-like peptide-1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide cell numbers in the super-obese human foregut after gastric bypass.

BACKGROUND: Super-obesity, a body mass index>50 kg/m(2), is difficult to treat. Many studies have focused on the anatomic changes of the intestines; the physiologic background is not clearly identified. It is established that Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) augments secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), peptide tyrosine tyrosine (PYY), and insulin, but other aspects of gut hormone cell function in the alimentary limb are unknown. OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of laparoscopic RYGB on enteroendocrine cells. SETTING: University-affiliated, high-volume bariatric surgery center. METHODS: Eighteen nondiabetic patients were drawn from the present study (NCT 01514799), randomizing between biliopancreatic (BP) limbs of either 60 cm (BP60) or 200 cm (BP200). Demographic characteristics did not differ at baseline or 12 months. Pouch and jejunal biopsies were obtained intraoperatively and using endoscopy at 12 months. Mucosal height and density of hormone-producing cell populations were assessed and mRNA expression measured with real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: In perianastomotic jejunum, a 4.9-fold increase in GLP-1 cell density was evident 12 months after RYGB, most pronounced in the BP200-group. The densities of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) cells and PYY immunoreactive cells were doubled after 12 months. GIP mRNA was unaffected, but GLP-1 and PYY mRNA were lower 12 months after RYGB. RYGB had no impact on villi length or density of ghrelin-, cholecystokinin-, neurotensin-, secretin-, or serotonin-producing cells after 12 months. Pouch mucosal height and cell densities of ghrelin-, histamine-, serotonin-, and somatostatin-producing cells remained unaffected by RYGB in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: RYGB selectively increased the density of incretin-producing cell populations in the jejunum. This may provide anatomic explanation for the observed increased plasma levels of incretins.

Tensile strength after closure of mesenteric gaps in laparoscopic gastric bypass: three techniques tested in a porcine model.

BACKGROUND: Internal hernias occur frequently after laparoscopic gastric bypass. We have found no data on the relative strength of the various techniques available for closing these defects. The present study was performed to obtain such data to form a theoretical basis for clinical studies. METHODS: Six piglets were operated laparoscopically and four loops of small bowel created in each. These mesenteric gaps were closed over a distance of 40 mm using (1) running 2-0 Ethibond® suture, (2) Endo Hernia stapler, (3) fibrin glue (Tisseel®) and (4) controls, where the mesenteric surfaces were rubbed with a sponge and approximated without further intervention. After 6 weeks, the different segments of the mesentery were excised. The tensile strength was measured using continuously increased traction until the closure ruptured. The ordinary mesentery served as the control. The breaking tension and total amount of energy transferred to the tissue were registered. RESULTS: Control areas with rubbed areas developed no adhesions. Suture and staple lines contracted by 30 % in length, whereas the fibrin glued lines were even shorter. Median tensile strength was greatest for the sutured lines (14,293 mN) and stapled lines (10,798 mN). Fibrin glued lines were significantly weaker (6,780 mN, p = 0.013 and p = 0.026), but as strong as ordinary mesentery (4,165 mN). CONCLUSIONS: If ongoing controlled randomized trials show closure to be beneficial, further studies should include staples as one of the options for the closure of mesenteric defects. The role of fibrin glue needs to be further investigated.

Internal hernia after gastric bypass: a new and simplified technique for laparoscopic primary closure of the mesenteric defects.

BACKGROUND: Bowel obstruction due to internal hernia is a well-known complication of laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRGB). Increasing evidence supports primary closing of the mesenteric defects, but controversy continues about surgical technique of systematic closure. This paper reviews our experience with internal hernia after LRGB and describes a new method of preemptive closure of the mesenteric defects. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two thousand four hundred seventy-two consecutive patients undergoing LRGB from September 2005 to June 2010 were entered into our prospective longitudinal database. The mesenteric defects were not closed. Patients entered a 5-year follow-up program, and all who subsequently presented with internal hernia were analyzed. A further 1,630 patients operated on in the last 12 months were subjected to our new technique of closing the defects; data were entered in our own database as well as in the Scandinavian quality registry. Follow-up time for these patients is limited. RESULTS: In the first group, 117 patients developed an internal hernia (4.7%) at a mean interval after LRGB of 13 (range, 4-43 months). Four patients needed bowel resections because of severe ischemia. There was one death associated with complication of the internal hernia. In the primary closure group, four patients early in the series had reoperations for kinking of the enteroanastomosis. There have been no mesenteric haematomas encountered. CONCLUSIONS: Internal hernia should be ruled out in patients with previous LRGB and abdominal pain. Our technique for primary closing of the mesenteric defects seems to be safe and is so far promising.

Jejunoileal bypass changes the duodenal cholecystokinin and somatostatin cell density.

BACKGROUND: In obese patients, jejunoileal bypass (JIB) has been used to induce weight reduction. Changes in the neuroendocrine system may be affected by the JIB-operation, because the proximal small intestinal mucosa has a rich supply of endocrine cells and peptidergic nerves. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 37 obese patients operated with JIB 1-30 years ago, small intestinal biopsies were taken at the duodeno-jejunal flexure, proximal to the anastomosis and from 5 unoperated obese persons and 20 normal weight patients. The tissue specimens were processed for immunocytochemical demonstration of cells/nerves containing: gastrin, cholecystokinin (CCK), secretin, gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP), motilin, somatostatin, serotonin, glicentine, peptide YY (PYY), neurotensin, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), substance P, neuropeptide Y (NPY) and galanin. The number of different endocrine cell-types were counted per unit length of mucosa, and the density of the peptidergic nerves was assessed semiquantitatively according to a schematic scale. RESULTS: JIB-patients had an increased density of CCK and somatostatin cells in the duodenal mucosa. The CCK cells displayed a changed reaction pattern, with a greater cell number reacting with an antiserum directed towards a non-amidated mid-sequence of procholecystokinin compared with the other groups. In obese unoperated patients, the density of PYY and secretin cells was decreased compared with the JIB-patients and the density of the GIP cells compared with both other groups. CONCLUSION: JIB induces an up-regulation of somatostatin and CCK precursor-containing cells in the duodenal mucosa. The time duration after the JIB did not seem to influence the results.