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Updated: Oct 15, 2025

Sleeve Gastrectomy in Mice using Surgical Clips
Published on: November 14, 2020
Effect of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy on drug pharmacokinetics
Kaifeng Chen1,2, Yaqi Lin1,2, Ping Luo3
1Department of Pharmacy, the Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Introduction:
Given its feasibility and efficacy, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) has become a widely accepted bariatric surgery for patients with clinically diagnosed severe obesity. LSG induces anatomical changes and subsequent weight loss which may affect drug pharmacokinetics (PK) and consequently impact dosing regimens. This review aims to examine the effect of LSG on drug PK and identify relevant gastrointestinal physiological alterations.
Areas Covered:
PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library were searched for articles related to drug PK and LSG from inception to July 2021. Moreover, literature concerning postoperative physiological conditions in the gastrointestinal tract, such as gastric pH, gastric emptying, and small bowel transit time, etc., which may affect the PK profile of drug products was also reviewed.
Expert Opinion:
Although LSG is classified as having restrictive property without malabsorptive bypass, postoperative changes in gastrointestinal physiology and subsequent weight loss may also lead to increased, decreased or unaltered drug exposure levels. General monitoring on drug efficacy or safety using biomarkers is proposed. In addition, therapeutic drug monitoring for those drugs when it is applicable and available is recommended to ensure efficient drug dosing and avoid adverse effects. Further research into many individual drugs are warranted.
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