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Background: Morbidly obese patients are at higher risk of complications after surgery. In bariatric surgery, pre- and intra-operative checklists are commonly used to identify high-risk patients preoperatively, to decrease the number of postoperative complications. This pilot study evaluates the effect of a postoperative checklist in bariatric surgery, addressing regularly measured parameters, on the occurrence and early recognition of complications. Methods: An in-house developed postoperative checklist was used on the first postoperative day after bariatric surgery and included information on nausea, pain, temperature, heart rate, and laboratory markers. Complications were scored using the Clavien-Dindo (CD) classification, and three groups were formed: no complications (CD0), minor complications (CD1 and 2), and major complications (≥CD3a). Differences between groups were analyzed using nonparametric tests. Results: Six hundred ninety-four subjects were included (79.5% female, age 42.6 ± 10.8 years, BMI 43.8 ± 5.8 kg/m). Twenty-nine subjects developed major complications within 30 days postoperatively. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between groups. Subjects with major complications were less willing to be discharged due to complaints, compared to subjects with no or minor complications (14.8 vs. 3.6 and 4.6%, respectively) and had a higher decrease of hemoglobin level (0.8 vs. 0.6 and 0.65 mmol/l, respectively). Conclusion: The patient's willingness for discharge, in combination with hemoglobin decrease, may be the best early predictors of major complications after bariatric surgery. This postoperative checklist may be an adequate instrument to identify patients who can be safely discharged home on the first postoperative day and thereby play a part in patient management after bariatric surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Interest in bariatric surgery in adolescents is increasing, because adolescent obesity equals increased health risks in adult life. To define the preferred procedure in adolescents, this study compares outcomes of LSG and LRYGB in late adolescents in our center. Materials and methods Data on baseline characteristics, operative details, and follow-up were collected retrospectively in all patients (age 18-20 years) who underwent LSG or LRYGB in our clinic. Outcomes were analyzed using nonparametric tests. Results Total 65 adolescents (54 females; median age 19 years) were included, 45 patients underwent LSG, and 20 underwent LRYGB.Significant differences in %EWL were observed at 2-year follow-up; 81.0% in LRYGB (n = 11) versus 96.8% in LSG (n = 23), p = 0.007. No differences were observed in postoperative mortality, complication rate, and resolution of comorbidities between both procedures. Discussion LSG showed significant better results than LRYGB in terms of %EWL after 2 years in this selected group of late adolescents. Considering these results in LSG patients and the theoretical advantages of LSG (normal diet options, preservation of an intact GI-tract, less vitamin disturbances, and better quality of life), LSG may be an appropriate bariatric technique to perform in morbidly obese adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Women are relatively protected from cardiovascular disease compared with men. Since morbid obesity is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the current study investigated whether the association between sex and cardiovascular risk factors and outcomes can be demonstrated in subjects suffering from morbid obesity., Materials and Methods: Two hundred subjects enrolled in a study on cardiovascular risk factors in morbid obesity underwent extensive laboratory screening, carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and pulse wave velocity (PWV) measurements. Gender differences were analysed using univariate and multivariable linear regression models. In addition, the effect of menopause on cIMT and PWV was analysed. Results of these models were reported as B coefficients with 95% confidence intervals., Results: The group consisted of 52 men and 148 women, with a mean age of 41 (±11.8) years and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 42.7 (±5.2) kg/m 2 . Both, cIMT and PWV were significantly higher in men than in women, although the difference in cIMT disappeared after adjustment for covariables such as waist circumference, age, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and mean arterial pressure. PWV was associated with sex after adjustments for covariables in morbidly obese patients. Postmenopausal women had significantly increased cIMT and PWV when compared with premenopausal women., Conclusion: Sex differences in PWV persist in subjects suffering from morbid obesity. However, no difference was found in cIMT between morbidly obese men and women after adjustment for classic cardiovascular risk factors. Premenopausal morbidly obese women are protected for cardiovascular disease when compared with postmenopausal morbidly obese women., (© 2019 The Authors. European Journal of Clinical Investigation published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Stichting European Society for Clinical Investigation Journal Foundation.)