Evaluation of the Effect of Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy on Gallstones in Shiraz

Background: Obesity can be associated with comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, and fatty liver. Cholelithiasis has a prevalence of 19-45% worldwide in obese individuals. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of weight loss on gallstone formation. Methods: This is a retrospective review of prospectively collected database from 276 patients (220 females and 56 males) who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) from September 2009 until April 2014 in Shiraz, Iran. Results: The patients' mean age was 35.70.6 years and mean body-mass index (BMI) was 44.3 +/- 0.4kg/m(2). Preoperatively, there were 171 (61.9%) patients with fatty liver and 15 (5.4%) patients with gallstone before weight loss. Postoperatively, 5 (1.8%) patients became symptomatic without preoperative cholelithiasis. Gallstone was seen with a higher percentage in female patients (95%). Weight loss after 1, 3, 6, and 12 months was similar in patients with gallstone and other patients. Conclusions: LSG leads to weight loss and resolution of comorbidities. Routine concomitant cholecystectomy could be considered in patients who have developed symptomatic gallstone. This study showed that there were fewer patients with cholelithiasis in comparison with other studies and it could be the effect of prophylactic consumption of ursodiol. In addition, time and amount of weight reduction are essential components of their management.