Muteb Naif Al Quwayd , Abdulaziz Saleh Alluhaydan , Ayman Adel Alsam , Abdullah Khalid Alferaih , Abdalmonem Hassan Oukda , Belal Basem Alagha , Abeer Ishq Alosaimi , Heba Essam Fahmy , Talal Hussain Binmushayt , Abdulaziz Ghazi Alotaibi

Abstract

The advent of bariatric surgery and its popularity comes because of the obesity epidemic. Following a progression from normal to overweight, only when a person’s body mass index is increased ≥ by 30 kg/m2 the diagnosis of obesity is made. This is a problem of many Western countries and westernized countries, as fast-food chains have already deepened their roots in everyday meals. Another cause of obesity is genetic inheritance, which is not uncommon as, for example, patients of Prader-Willi syndrome are known to develop excessive weight gain due to hormonal imbalances out of their conscious control and due to its many associated risks and diseases, such as metabolic syndrome, management of severe refractory cases is of utmost importance. In these cases, bariatric surgery became the mainstay in modern medicine with many techniques and breakthroughs.

We aimed to review the literature on bariatric surgery, along with the indications, techniques, complications, and management. PubMed database was used for article selection, papers were obtained and reviewed. While obesity prevalence and its related complications rate are increasing, the surgical treated patients’ rate is growing as well. As a result, complications related to these surgeries can arise in these patients and be fatal in some scenarios. Fortunately, with the implementation of new techniques and breakthroughs in overall operational care, the satisfaction and success rates are increasing. Nevertheless, patients shall be aware that this operation is considered usually the last line of management and they shall exhaust all conservative management options first.