Perioperative and Postoperative Effects of Preoperative Low-Calorie Restrictive Diets on Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy

Abstract

Objective A restrictive diet applied before bariatric surgery can be required to reduce the liver volume or as a necessity imposed by insurance companies. However, the benefits of preoperative weight loss remain controversial. The present study aimed to investigate the perioperative and postoperative outcomes of a restrictive diet applied before laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. Materials and Methods The data of 128 patients who received surgery in 2015 and 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were advised to follow a 4-week low-calorie (1000 cal) restrictive diet. Nevertheless, approximately 50% of patients did not accept the diet plan. We divided the patients into two groups as dieters (group 1) and non-dieters (group 2). Results In group 1, changes in after-diet BMI and liver size were statistically significant (p < 0.001). In group 2, mean operation duration, mean hospitalization duration values, mean BMI values, and mean body weight at postoperative 1, 3, 6, and 12 months were statistically significantly higher than in group 1. No statistically significant difference was found between early complication rates of the groups (p = 0.844). Conclusion Low-calorie restrictive diet applied before laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy has reduced liver volume and shortens surgery and hospitalization time but does not have any significance concerning early complications and weight loss after operation in 1 year. Also, non-adherence of the bariatric surgery candidate patients to the diet seems to be a challenge.