The Utilization of Bariatric Surgery in Patients With and Without Diabetes: Results from the Second Kuwait National Bariatric Surgery Database Report

Abstract

Background:

We used the Kuwait National Bariatric Surgery Database Report to extract data on the status and outcomes of patients presenting with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) undergoing bariatric–metabolic surgery in Kuwait.

Methods:

Cross-sectional analysis was conducted on retrospective data that were collected from seven public hospitals.

Results:

The rate of T2DM was 12.5%. The mean age of patients with T2DM was higher than that of patients without (42 vs. 31.9 years). The majority of patients with T2DM were in the body mass index (BMI) range 40.0–49.9 kg/m². Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) accounted for 79.0% of procedures performed in nondiabetic patients and 79.7% in diabetics. For diabetic patients in Group 1 (BMI <35), sleeve gastrectomy (SG) only accounted for 47.2%, while in BMI group (>35) SG accounted for 82.6–83.2%. The percentage of overall complications encountered postoperatively was significantly higher in diabetic patients (6.6% vs. 4.7%; p = 0.044). A similar trend was seen in postoperative cardiac complications (5.6% vs. 2.5%; p = 0.000).

Conclusion:

LSG was the most performed procedure in both diabetics and nondiabetics. Patients with diabetes tended to present for surgery at an older age, as well as having a higher percentage of complications postoperatively, pointing toward the importance of postoperative care in diabetic patients who present for bariatric surgery.