Benefits of Adjuvant Medical Weight Loss Intervention in Setting of Weight Regain and Inadequate Weight Loss After Weight Loss Surgery

Background Currently, there is no nationally accepted protocol for addressing weight regain or inadequate weight loss after MBS. Objectives To devise, implement, and evaluate a protocol targeting weight regain or inadequate weight loss in MBS patients at our institution. Setting Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States Methods Patients at least 6 months following primary sleeve gastrectomy (SG) or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) who achieved or were trending toward <50% excess body weight loss or who regained >= 10% of their lowest postoperative weight, were identified and referred for medical weight loss (MWL) intervention. Exclusion criteria were body mass index (BMI) <= 27 kg/m(2), treatment with adjustable gastric banding, and conversion from SG to RYGB. Results 2274 patients who were >6 months out from surgery were evaluated over 12 months. 93 patients (86% female) met criteria for inclusion. 69 (74%) patients agreed to intervention and were followed for an average of 165 days (SD 106.89 days), demonstrating a mean weight change of -5.11 kg (SD 6.86 kg), and BMI change of -1.81 kg/m(2) (SD 2.37 kg/m(2)). Patients who spent <90 days in a MWL program demonstrated less average weight loss (1.75 kg vs 6.48 kg) (P = .0042), and less change in BMI (-.63 kg/m(2) vs -2.29 kg/m(2)) (P = .0037) when compared to patients who spent >90 days in the MWL intervention. Conclusions This study identifies criteria for intervention in patients suffering weight regain or inadequate weight loss after MBS and demonstrates that standardized identification and referral for treatment results in modest weight loss.