Prevalence of dysphagia after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: a national propensity...

The comparative incidence of dysphagia after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is not well-studied.

Examining the incidence and etiologies of dysphagia following LSG and RYGB in patients with obesity.

A national database TriNetX, which brings together data from 70 US-health care organizations, was utilized.

The incidence of dysphagia after RYGB and LSG versus patients with obesity who did not undergo bariatric surgery from 2014 to 2024. A 1:1 propensity score matching was performed to adjust for sleep apnea, proton pump inhibitor, reflux, age, tobacco, and alcohol abuse. The odds of developing dysphagia within 1 month, 1-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 1-3 years, 3-5 years and 5-10 years after bariatric surgery was also examined. Patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia or those with dysphagia after a cerebrovascular incident were excluded from the study. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.

2,761,563 patients with obesity were included. 2,616,988 did not undergo surgery, 8.53% developed dysphagia. Twenty-nine thousand two hundred forty-twounderwent RYGB, 14.6% developed dysphagia (RYGB versus No Surgery OR = 2.48, 95% CI 2.24- 2.49). 57,013 patients underwent LSG, 8.67% developed dysphagia (LSG versus No surgery OR = 1.5; 95%CI 1.42-1.52). In both surgical groups, the incidence of dysphagia was highest within 30 days after the surgery. After matching RYGB (OR = 1.57; 95%CI 1.48-1.67) and LSG (OR = 1.16, 95%CI 1.10-1.12) remained independent risk factors for dysphagia.

The incidence of dysphagia is increased after both LSG and RYGB compared to patients with obesity who did not undergo surgery, though the increased incidence is more pronounced after RYGB.