Does BMI Matter? A 10-Year Single Institutional Experience on 571 Bariatric Surgery Patients With BMI >50 kg/m 2

Patients undergoing bariatric surgery with body mass index (BMI) >50 kg/m 2 are at a higher risk of surgical morbidity when compared with less obese patients, however, there is limited data correlating surgical risk and efficacy with increasing BMI in patients with severe obesity. We hypothesize that regardless of the degree above 50 kg/m 2 their BMI, patients with severe obesity respond similarly to bariatric surgery.

We performed a retrospective analysis of patients with BMI >50 kg/m 2 who underwent biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, or sleeve gastrectomy at a single institution. Outcomes were compared in patients with a BMI between 50 and 60 kg/m 2 to patients with a BMI >60 kg/m 2 and included percent total weight loss as well as early and late complications. Statistical analyses were performed using logistic regression, univariate, and multivariate models.

There were 571 patients with BMI >50 kg/m 2 who underwent bariatric surgery at our center, 170 (29.8%) had a BMI >60 kg/m 2 . Percent total weight loss was statistically significant between the BMI 50 and 60 kg/m 2 and BMI >60 kg/m 2 groups at 24 months ( P =0.047) but not at 60 months ( P =0.54). No significant difference was found in the incidence of early complications in a univariate ( P =0.46) or a multivariate ( P =0.06) analysis. The BMI >60 subgroup was associated with a higher rate of late complications in univariate analysis (heart rate=2.37; 1.03-5.47, P =0.04), but not in multivariate analysis ( P =0.78).

Efficacy and complication rates of bariatric surgeries are similar in patients with BMI 50 to 60 kg/m 2 and >60 kg/m 2 , providing evidence supporting similar management of patients despite specific subgroups.