Simultaneous Liver Transplant, Sleeve Gastrectomy Beneficial

FRIDAY, May 9, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Simultaneous liver transplant and sleeve gastrectomy (LTSG) yield durable weight loss, resolution of diabetes and hypertension, and a reduction in allograft steatosis development, according to a study recently published online in the Journal of Hepatology.

Ellen L. Larson, M.D., from the William Von Liebig Center for Transplantation at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine Rochester in Minnesota, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study involving 72 patients undergoing LTSG and 185 patients with body mass index (BMI) >30 kg/m² who underwent LT alone for metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease.

The researchers observed no significant difference in mortality and graft loss for LT versus LTSG patients. A significantly lower prevalence of diabetes was seen for more than eight years for post-LTSG patients, while hypertension decreased from 61.1 to 38.5 percent. Compared with baseline, significant weight loss was seen for more than nine years for LTSG patients, with an average baseline BMI of 45.5 kg/m². No significant change in BMI or diabetes was seen for LT patients, who had an average baseline BMI of 34.0 kg/m². Allograft steatosis development was significantly lower in LTSG versus LT patients. The prevalence of fibrosis was reduced in LTSG versus LT patients at three to 10 years postoperatively, although the reduction was not significant.

“Given the rising obesity epidemic world-wide, it is essential to find solutions that provide increased transplant access and improved metabolic outcomes for this complex patient population,” the authors write.

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