Anesthesia for bariatric surgery: 8-Year retrospective study: Are our patients now easier to manage?

ObjectivesTo review the perioperative management of patients who had undergone bariatric surgery in our institution during an 8-year period, with the aim of identifying variables that correlated with improved clinical outcomes and changes in perioperative practice.MethodsThis was a retrospective observational study of 437 patients who had undergone bariatric surgery from January 2005 to June 2013. Of these patients, 163 had undergone open or laparoscopic biliopancreatic diversion (Group 1), and 274 had been managed according to a Tailored Laparoscopic Approach Program (TLAP) (Group 2). We analyzed major cardiocirculatory, pulmonary, and surgery-related complications, mortality rate, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, post-anesthetic care unit (PACU) length of stay, and perioperative management standards, throughout the study period.ResultsChanges were observed in anesthetic patterns and perioperative care standards during the study period: 25% of patients had combined epidural anesthesia in 2005, compared with none at present; ICU admissions decreased from 28.6% in 2005 to 3.1% at present; and time in PACU declined from a median of 23 h in 2005 to 5.12 h at present. Duration of postoperative opioid therapy was also significantly reduced (from 48 h to 6 h). Group 2 had a significantly lower mortality rate than Group 1 (0.37% versus 4.3%, respectively, P = 0.004).ConclusionsIn our institution, adoption of a TLAP for bariatric surgery has led to changes in perioperative care standards that have been followed by clear improvements according to morbidity, mortality and management indicators.