SAGES guidelines for the management of comorbidities relevant to metabolic and bariatric surgery

Patients who are under consideration for or have undergone metabolic and bariatric surgery frequently have comorbid medical conditions that may make their perioperative care more complex. These recommendations address routine intraoperative cholangiography in patients with bypass-type anatomy, the management of reflux disease after sleeve gastrectomy, and the optimal bariatric procedure for patients with comorbid inflammatory bowel disease.

A systematic review was conducted including studies published from 1990 to 2022 to address these questions. These results were then presented to a panel of bariatric surgeons who formulated recommendations based on the best available evidence or utilized expert opinion when the evidence base was lacking.

Conditional recommendations were made in favor of routine intraoperative cholangiography in patients with bypass-type anatomy undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy, trialing medical management prior to surgical management in patients with reflux after sleeve gastrectomy, and sleeve gastrectomy rather than Roux en Y gastric bypass in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The strength of these recommendations was limited by the quality of evidence available. Recommendations for future research were made for all questions.

These recommendations should provide guidance regarding management of these comorbidities in patients who are under consideration for or have undergone metabolic and bariatric surgery. These recommendations also identify important areas where the future research should focus to strengthen the evidence base.