NIH Study Finds Low Short-term Risks After Bariatric Surgery for Extreme Obesity

Short-term complications and death rates were low following bariatric surgery to limit the amount of food that can enter the stomach, decrease absorption of food or both, according to the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS-1).

The study was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. Results are reported in the July 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Less than 1 percent (0.3 percent) of patients died within 30 days of surgery, further supporting the short-term safety of bariatric surgery as a treatment for patients with extreme obesity.

Bariatric surgery can have dramatic health benefits — such as improved blood sugar control or even reversal of type 2 diabetes. But it also carries serious risks, including death. The LABS-1 study aimed to evaluate the short-term safety of bariatric surgery to help doctors and patients understand the risks.

“Evaluating the 30-day safety outcomes of bariatric surgery in large populations is an essential step forward,” according to co-author Myrlene Staten, M.D. senior advisor for diabetes translation research at NIDDK, part of NIH. “And LABS-1 data are from all patients who had their procedure performed by a surgeon participating in the study, not from just a select few patients.”

Various types of bariatric surgery limit food intake, nutrient absorption or both. The major types of surgery undergone by participants in this study included laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and open Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

Gastric bands create a pouch around the top of the stomach to limit food intake at any one time. Gastric bypass also creates a pouch and redirects food around most of the stomach and part of the small intestine, limiting the absorption of food.

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