Background

While patients experience substantial weight loss following bariatric surgery, body mass index (BMI) does not encompass their perception of their physical function and quality of life. The postoperative trajectories of these patient-centered metrics following sleeve gastrectomy (SG), the most common bariatric surgery performed in the U.S., are poorly understood.

Methods

Patients who underwent consecutive primary SG across three academic hospitals were asked to complete the BODY-Q Physical Function (PF) and EQ-5D instruments between January 2020 to July 2022. The BODY-Q PF is a validated questionnaire that assesses physical function. The EQ-5D assesses mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression, as well as a visual analog scale (VAS) global rating of health. Instruments were administered to patients electronically preoperatively and postoperatively. T-tests were used for analysis.

Results

Data were analyzed for 351 patients who underwent primary SG and completed the BODY-Q PF or EQ-5D. The preoperative mean age was 41.3 years, mean BMI was 46.3, and 83.3% were female. Completion rates of BODY-Q and EQ-5D were 52%. Postoperative BODY-Q scores, EQ-5D domain scores, and VAS ratings improved significantly at every time point compared to preoperative scores except for the EQ5D Anxiety/Depression score, which initially improves until 6 months postop, when it returns to preoperative levels (Figure 1).

Conclusions

Though patients who undergo SG improve significantly in terms of physical function-related domains, their mental well-being appears to improve only transiently and then return to preoperative levels. These findings may guide pre-emptive counseling of patients during their postoperative recovery.