Analysis of the Management of Cholelithiasis in Bariatric Surgery Patients: a Single-Center Experience

Purpose: Cholelithiasis is an issue in bariatric surgery patients. The incidence of cholelithiasis is increased in morbidly obese patients. After bariatric surgery, the management maybe sometimes challenging. There is no consensus about how to deal with cholelithiasis prior to bariatric surgery.

Materials and methods: A retrospective review from our prospectively collected bariatric surgery database. Primary bariatric procedures from 2009 to 2020 were included. Prevalence of cholelithiasis and its management prior to bariatric surgery and the incidence and management of postoperative biliary events were analyzed.

Results: Over 1445 patients analyzed, preoperatively cholelithiasis was found in 153 (10.58%), and 68 out of them (44.44%) were symptomatic. Seventy-six patients had a concomitant cholecystectomy. In those cases, the bariatric procedure did not show increased operative time, length of stay, morbidity, or mortality compared to the rest of primary bariatric procedures. Twelve patients (15.58%) with previous cholelithiasis and no concomitant cholecystectomy presented any kind of biliary event and required cholecystectomy. De novo cholelithiasis rate requiring cholecystectomy was 3.86%. Postoperative biliary events both in de novo and persistent cholelithiasis population did not show any difference between the type of surgery, weight loss, and other characteristics.

Conclusions: Cholelithiasis was present in 10.58% of our primary bariatric surgery population. Concomitant cholecystectomy was safe in our series. Non-surgical management of asymptomatic cholelithiasis did not lead to a higher risk of postoperative biliary events. The global postoperative cholecystectomy rate was equivalent to the general population.