Outcomes of laparoscopic-assisted ERCP in gastric bypass patients at a community hospital center.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a prevalent issue in today's society, increasing the number of gastric weight loss surgeries (Bowman et al. in Surg Endosc. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-016-4746-8 , 2016; Choi et al. in Surg Endosc. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-013-2850-6 , 2013; Paranandi et al. in Frontline Gastroenterol. https://doi.org/10.1136/flgastro-2015-100556 , 2015; Richardson et al. in http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/sesc/tas , 2012). This presents an anatomical challenge to biliary disease requiring endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) as the traditional is technically difficult, requiring a longer endoscope with a reported success rate of less than 70% (Roberts et al. in https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3016032/ , 2008). A solution is laparoscopic-assisted ERCP (LA-ERCP) via gastrostomy. We present our experience with LA-ERCP at our teaching community hospital in a large cohort of patients. METHODS: An IRB-approved retrospective chart review was performed on patients with prior gastric bypass surgery who underwent LA-ERCP from April 2008 to April 2016. The procedure involved two bariatric surgeons and one gastroenterologist. The gastric remnant was secured to the abdominal wall with a purse-string suture and transfascial stay sutures. After gastrostomy creation of a duodenoscope was inserted to perform ERCP. Biliary sphincterotomy, dilation, and stone removal were performed as indicated. We observed the incidence of postoperative outcomes, including acute pancreatitis, reoperation, post-procedure infection, pain control, hospital readmission, and bile leak. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients met inclusion criteria. The majority of indications for LA-ERCP was choledocholithiasis (16/32). The remainder of cases included indications such as abnormal LFTs with biliary dilation (11/32), acute pancreatitis (2/32), cholangitis (2/32), and bile leak (1/32). LA-ERCP was successfully performed in all patients. Biliary sphincterotomy and stone extraction were performed on 31/32 patients. One patient underwent sphincterotomy and stent placement for bile leak after recent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. One patient developed acute pancreatitis with elevated pancreatic enzymes which resolved on POD2. The median length of stay was 2 days. CONCLUSION: LA-ERCP is a safe and feasible alternative to open surgery and can be safely implemented at community hospitals with adequately trained providers. Our large study proves that in this minimally invasive era, LA-ERCP provides gastric bypass patients a safe alternative with less pain and increased satisfaction.

Perioperative Risks of Untreated Obstructive Sleep Apnea in the Bariatric Surgery Patient: a Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND: The use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) perioperatively in bariatric surgery patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been controversial. Although studies have demonstrated that CPAP use is safe in bariatric patients, prior studies have not shown improvement in outcomes in these patients. METHODS: A retrospective review of patients who underwent bariatric surgery from 2005 to 2009 was performed. All patients underwent polysomnography preoperatively. Patient age, sex, BMI, comorbidities, polysomnogram data, type of bariatric procedure, length of hospital stay, and postoperative complications were reviewed. The Fisher exact test was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Among the 352 patients studied, 47 with apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥5 did not receive CPAP postoperatively. A total of 7/47 (14.9 %) developed postoperative pulmonary complications. There were no non-pulmonary complications. Some 9/305 (2.95 %) with CPAP developed pulmonary complications. There were 26/305 patients with all-cause complications (8.52 %). The AHI was higher in the group receiving treatment. There was a statistically significant difference in pulmonary complications between patients with and those without treatment (p value 0.0002). The average length of stay was 3.0 and 3.2 days in treatment and comparison groups, respectively, a difference that did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who did not receive CPAP postoperatively developed more pulmonary complications than those with CPAP, suggesting that CPAP might be beneficial in decreasing pulmonary complications in patients undergoing bariatric surgery. However, further investigation is warranted to better delineate other risk factors due to small sample size in our study group.

Micro-laparoscopic cholecystectomy: an alternative to single-port surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Recent advances in minimally invasive surgery aimed at diminishing incision size have led to the development of single-port surgery (SPS). SPS has an increased level of complexity and requires a higher level of surgical skill compared to traditional laparoscopy. We explored micro-laparoscopy as an alternative to routine laparoscopic cholecystectomy. METHODS: The study is a retrospective review of consecutive elective laparoscopic cholecystectomies performed by a single surgeon at a community teaching hospital over 24 months. All surgeries were performed using a 5-mm trocar for the umbilical port and 3-mm trocars for other ports in standard configuration. RESULTS: Seventy-nine cholecystectomies were performed by micro-laparoscopy during the 24-month period. Three cases required upgrade in trocar size for technical reasons, resulting in a completion rate of 96%. Intraoperative cholangiography was performed in 70 cases (89%). There were no conversions to open surgery. There were no intra- or postoperative complications, and all patients were discharged on the day of surgery. CONCLUSION: Micro-laparoscopic cholecystectomy is safe, feasible, and represents an alternative to other minimally invasive techniques. Future developments in surgical technology will allow the use of even smaller instruments, diminishing the surgical "footprint" even further and contributing to better cosmesis and decreased postoperative pain in cholecystectomy patients.