Background: Previous studies have reported that risk factors for elevated mortality after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass include male gender, as well as a very elevated BMI. The present study was aimed at determining whether these same risk factors applied to patients undergoing the duodenal switch (DS) operation.
Materials and methods: A retrospective chart review was performed of a cohort of 385 patients who underwent DS. The 30-day mortality of super-superobese (SSO) patients [BMI > or =60 kg/m2 (n=102)] was compared with the mortality of the super- and morbidly obese (SMO) patients [35<BMI<60 kg/m2 (n=283)].
Results: Overall mortality in SSO patients was 7.8% (8/102), compared with 0% (0/283) in SMO patients undergoing the same procedure (P<0.001). When a gender-based subgroup analysis was performed in the SSO patients, men had a 16.7% mortality (7/42) while women had only a 1.7% (1/60) mortality.
Conclusions: In this study of patients undergoing DS, being SSO -- specifically SSO men -- was associated with increased mortality. Further studies will be needed to better determine the precise mechanism of these risk factors leading to such an elevation in mortality. Until then, caution should be exercised before performing DS in male patients with BMI > or =60 kg/m2.