Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery in Patients Older than 65 Years - a Multicenter Study

Introduction With the increase in life expectancy and a growing number of people suffering from obesity, bariatric and metabolic surgery is becoming a major concern in the elderly population. The study aimed to collect, systematize and present the available data on the surgical treatment of obesity among Polish patients over 65 years of age. Material and Methods A retrospective study analysed patients over 65 years who underwent laparoscopic bariatric procedures in Poland from 2008 to 2022. The efficacy endpoints were percentage of excess weight loss (EWL%), percentage of total weight loss (%TWL), improvement in obesity-related diseases. Results The group consisted of 284 patients (173 women, 60.9%). The mean follow-up was 47.5 months. The mean BMI before surgery was 43.1 kg/m2. 146 (51.4%) patients had T2D, and 244 (85.9%) had HT. The most common procedure was sleeve gastrectomy (82.0%). The mean EWL% after surgery was 50.9%, and the mean TWL% after surgery was 20.6%. There was the statistically significant difference between AGB vs OAGB, SG vs OAGB in %EWL (p = 0.0116, p = 0.009, respectively) and RYGB vs OAGB in %TWL (p = 0.0291). After surgery, 93 patients (63.7%) had complete or partial remission of T2D, and 112 patients ( 45.9%) had complete or partial remission of HT. Conclusion Bariatric surgery appears to be a safe and effective method of treatment of obesity in patients over 65 years of age. OAGB seems to have better results in weight loss than SG, RYGB, and AGB in older patients.