Preoperative Detection of Sarcopenic Obesity Helps to Predict the Occurrence of Gastric Leak After Sleeve Gastrectomy.

BACKGROUND: Sleeve gastrectomy (SG) has become the primary procedure for many bariatric teams and staple-line leak represents its most feared complication. Sarcopenic obesity combines the risks of obesity and depleted lean mass leading possibly to an inferior surgical outcome after abdominal surgery.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the existence of a potential link between radiologically determined sarcopenic obesity and staple-line leak risk after SG.

METHODS: A retrospective analysis of a prospective database was performed in consecutive patients undergoing SG as primary procedure. Total psoas muscles (TPA) and total visible muscles (TMA) areas were measured on a preoperative computed tomography (CT). Sarcopenia was defined as lowest tertile of skeletal muscular mass indexes (muscular areas over square of height) in each gender (using TPA or TMA). Multivariate analysis was performed to determine preoperative risk factors for staple-line leak.

RESULTS: During the study period, 205 patients were included in the analysis. Median BMI was 40.8 kg/m2 (34.2-49.6), and 9 patients (4.4%) presented a gastric leak. The sex-specific cut-offs for skeletal muscular mass index according to TPA were 8.2 cm2 /m2 for men and 6.08 cm2 /m2 for women. After multivariate analysis, preoperative weight (OR = 1043) and sarcopenia (TPA) (OR = 5204) were independent predictive factors for gastric leak.

CONCLUSIONS: The present series suggests that CT scan-determined sarcopenic obesity is associated with increased risk of gastric leak after SG. This preoperatively radiological examination would be a useful clinical tool to tailor patient management according to gastric leak risk.