Glycaemic and weight effects of metabolic surgery or semaglutide in diabetes dosage for patients with type 2 diabetes.

AIM: To compare weight and glucometabolic outcomes of semaglutide and metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) for patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients treated with either semaglutide for a duration of ≥2 years or MBS in Sweden were identified within the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry and the National Diabetes Registry and matched in a 1:1-2 ratio using a propensity score matching with a generalized linear model, including age, sex, glycated haemoglobin before treatment, duration of type 2 diabetes, use of insulin, presence of comorbidities and history of cancer, with good matching results but with a remaining imbalance for glomerular filtration rate and body mass index, which were then adjusted for in the following analyses. Main outcomes were weight loss and glycaemic control. RESULTS: The study included 606 patients in the surgical group matched to 997 controls who started their treatment from 2018 until 2020. Both groups improved in weight and glucometabolic control. At 2 years after the intervention, mean glycated haemoglobin was 42.3 ± 11.18 after MBS compared with 50.7 ± 12.48 after semaglutide treatment (p < 0.001) with 382 patients (63.0%) and 139 (13.9%), respectively, reaching complete remission without other treatment than the intervention (p < 0.001). Mean total weight loss reached 26.4% ± 8.83% after MBS compared with 5.2% ± 7.87% after semaglutide (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Semaglutide and MBS were both associated with improvements in weight and improved glycaemic control at 2 years after the start of the intervention, but MBS was associated with better weight loss and glucometabolic control.

Comparison of Sleeve Gastrectomy vs Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (SG) and laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) are widely used bariatric procedures for which comparative efficacy and safety remain unclear. Objective: To compare perioperative outcomes in SG and RYGB. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this registry-based, multicenter randomized clinical trial (Bypass Equipoise Sleeve Trial), baseline and perioperative data for patients undergoing bariatric surgery from October 6, 2015, to March 31, 2022, were analyzed. Patients were from university, regional, county, and private hospitals in Sweden (n = 20) and Norway (n = 3). Adults (aged ≥18 years) eligible for bariatric surgery with body mass indexes (BMIs; calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) of 35 to 50 were studied. Interventions: Laparoscopic SG or RYGB. Main Outcomes and Measures: Perioperative complications were analyzed as all adverse events and serious adverse events (Clavien-Dindo grade >IIIb). Ninety-day mortality was also assessed. Results: A total of 1735 of 14 182 eligible patients (12%; 1282 [73.9%] female; mean (SD) age, 42.9 [11.1] years; mean [SD] BMI, 40.8 [3.7]) were included in the study. Patients were randomized and underwent SG (n = 878) or RYGB (n = 857). The mean (SD) operating time was shorter in those undergoing SG vs RYGB (47 [18] vs 68 [25] minutes; P < .001). The median (IQR) postoperative hospital stay was 1 (1-1) day in both groups. The 30-day readmission rate was 3.1% after SG and 4.0% after RYGB (P = .33). There was no 90-day mortality. The 30-day incidence of any adverse event was 40 (4.6%) and 54 (6.3%) in the SG and RYGB groups, respectively (odds ratio, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.47-1.08; P = .11). Corresponding figures for serious adverse events were 15 (1.7%) for the SG group and 23 (2.7%) for the RYGB group (odds ratio, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.33-1.22; P = .19). Conclusions and Relevance: This randomized clinical trial of 1735 patients undergoing primary bariatric surgery found that both SG and RYGB were performed with a low perioperative risk without clinically significant differences between groups. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02767505.

Surgical technique in constructing the jejunojejunostomy and the risk of small bowel obstruction after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

BACKGROUND: Mechanical problems at the level of the jejunojejunostomy (JJ) have been identified as a cause of small bowel obstruction (SBO) after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to investigate associations between specific surgical techniques used to construct the JJ and the subsequent risk of SBO. SETTING: Nationwide Registry, Sweden. METHODS: The risk of SBO after primary RYGB surgery during 2012-2019 was assessed using data from the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry and the Swedish National Patient Register. The impact of unidirectional or bidirectional stapling and length of the mesenteric division (0, 1-4, or ≥5 cm) at the JJ was analyzed with adjustments for known covariates. RESULTS: We analyzed outcomes from 23,448 patients (mean follow-up = 4.3 ± 2.2 yr). In multivariate analysis, bidirectional stapling of the JJ was associated with a reduced 30-day risk of SBO (hazard ratio [HR] = .52, 95% confidence interval [CI] = .29-.95, P < .05), whereas limited mesenteric division (1-4 cm) increased the risk of SBO (HR = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.14-2.42, P < .01). The long-term incidence of SBO was increased by bidirectional stapling but unaffected by mesenteric division. However, mesenteric division decreased the long-term risk of SBO in patients with a bidirectionally stapled JJ (1-4 cm, HR = .59, 95% CI = .38-.90, P < .05; ≥5 cm, HR = .30, 95% CI = .14-.65, P < .005). CONCLUSIONS: The surgical technique for construction of the JJ may affect the incidence of SBO after RYGB surgery.

The Jejunojejunostomy: an Achilles Heel of the Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Construction.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) has for long been the gold standard technique in bariatric surgery, especially in the Scandinavian countries. In a tertiary hospital setting, we observed an increasing number of patients with postprandial abdominal pain and nausea, often associated with complex hypoglycemia. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to characterize the clinical patterns, patient characteristics, and clinical outcomes after surgical revision of dysfunctional RYGB at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden. METHODS: This cohort study included patients with RYGB who underwent revision of the jejunojejunostomy (JJ) after 2013. Information was obtained by reviewing medical records and performing complementary interviews. RESULTS: Laparoscopic revisional surgery was performed in 115 cases with either adhesiolysis or total revision of the JJ (mean age 41 years, range 19-67 years; 90% women). The median time to assessment after the last revision was 33 months (range 12-75 months). Forty-four (38%) patients reported that they were symptom-free long-term after the intervention, and 32 (28%) patients experienced an improvement in the symptoms that were the indication for revision. However, 31 (27%) patients reported no long-term improvement, and half of them (n = 16) subsequently had a reversal of the anatomy. Eight (7%) patients were lost to follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Dysfunction of the JJ appears to be a relatively common cause of postprandial pain and nausea after ante-colic/ante-gastric RYGB. Most patients with symptoms of dysfunction experienced partial or total relief following revisional surgery, but a substantial minority had persistent problems, with one in five eventually undergoing reversal of the anatomy.

BEST: Bypass equipoise sleeve trial; rationale and design of a randomized, registry-based, multicenter trial comparing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass with sleeve gastrectomy.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic gastric bypass (LGBP) is a well-documented surgical intervention for severe obesity. Recently, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) has gained increased popularity. Short-term follow-up in limited-sized randomized trials comparing LGBP and LSG show no major differences in weight-loss, adverse events, or effect on comorbidities; however, there is a lack of sufficiently powered, pragmatic, randomized controlled trials comparing the mid- and long-term results of the two methods. METHOD: BEST is a randomized, registry-based, multicenter trial comparing LGBP and LSG. The trial has two primary outcomes; rates of substantial complications (SC) and total body weight loss. We hypothesize that patients treated with LSG will experience 35% fewer substantial complications during the 5-year follow-up compared to patients treated with LGBP, and that the efficacy of LSG will remain within a non-inferiority margin of 5% in terms of weight loss. Our sample size calculation, using data from the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry (SOReg), shows a power of 80% for SC and > 95% for weight loss at p < .025 with a total of 2100 included patients. The design of the trial will also enable comparisons within several relevant patient subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: As a large-sized, pragmatic, randomized trial, BEST will provide robust data comparing LGBP with LSG by generating long-term results on weight loss and SC's, as well as secondary outcomes and comparisons within patient subgroups. The use of a well-established registry for registration of all data facilitates a large multicenter trial, and combines the strengths of registry studies with those of a randomized trial. Clinical Trials registry: NCT02767505.

Possible relation between partial small bowel obstruction and severe postprandial reactive hypoglycemia after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

BACKGROUND: Although dietary treatment ameliorates symptoms in most patients with postbariatric hypoglycemia (PBH), there is a subgroup with severe symptoms that do not respond sufficiently to either diet or drugs. A clinical observation showed that those patients additionally experienced postprandial abdominal discomfort or pain. OBJECTIVES: This report describes patients with severe PBH following laparoscopic Roux-en Y gastric bypass undergoing corrective surgery to alleviate partial small bowel obstruction (kink, adhesions, dysfunctional anastomosis) and the subsequent outcome regarding symptoms of PBH. SETTING: Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Sweden. METHODS: Retrospective analysis regarding hypoglycemic symptoms from medical records and a complementary telephone interview. RESULTS: Out of 80 patients treated for severe PBH at our tertiary academic surgical unit over the last 4 years, 38 underwent corrective surgery (adhesiolysis and/or a reconstructed jejuno-jejunostomy). Out of 21 patients using medications to control hypoglycemia before corrective surgery, 19 (90.5%) discontinued the medication, and 5 of 19 (26%) no longer needed to use a blood glucometer or a continuous glucose monitor. Although patients after surgical correction still could experience PBH, symptoms were less frequent and less severe. Postprandial abdominal symptoms decreased, and patients reported improved eating quality. Patient interviews revealed that 8% became entirely free of PBH symptoms after surgery and 71% experienced significant relief. CONCLUSIONS: We propose a possible association between severe hypoglycemic symptoms after laparoscopic Roux-en Y gastric bypass and partial small bowel obstruction. Patients with PBH not responding adequately to diet and drug treatment may benefit from assessment and intervention for partial small bowel obstruction.