Anthropometric and Metabolic Changes and Comorbidity Remission Rates After Predominantly Sleeve Gastrectomy at a Referral Center in Southwestern Colombia: A Retrospective Cohort Study, 2022-2023

Background: Bariatric surgery is among the most effective interventions for weight loss and metabolic improvement; real-world evidence from Latin America, particularly for sleeve gastrectomy, remains limited.Objective: To evaluate metabolic changes and estimate comorbidity remission rates after bariatric surgery at a referral center in southwestern Colombia (2022)(2023).Methodology: This retrospective pre-post cohort study included 315 adults.Preoperative and latest available postoperative values (up to 36 months) were compared using a paired t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test (Hodges-Lehmann differences with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for nonnormally distributed variables).Remission denominators included all patients with the diagnosis.Results: Most patients were female (300/315, 95.2%) and underwent sleeve gastrectomy (300/315, 95.2%).Median follow-up was 12.0 months; postoperative data availability ranged from 97.8% (weight/body mass index (BMI)) to 17.1% (vitamin B12).Weight (-23.0 kg; 95% CI, -24.5 to -21.5) and BMI (-10.4 kg/m²; 95% CI, -10.8 to -9.7) decreased, as did glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), triglycerides, total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and blood pressure; high-density lipoprotein (HDL) increased (all P < 0.001).Greater weight loss correlated with larger reductions in HbA1c and blood pressure.Remission rates were 55/140 (39.3%) for prediabetes, 15/67 (22.4%) for type 2 diabetes (8/67 sustained through 12 months), and 15/120 (12.5%) for hypertension.Three patients had dumping syndrome, 2 required conversion to gastric bypass, and 1 died intraoperatively.Conclusions: In this predominantly female, sleeve gastrectomy cohort, surgery was associated with weight loss and cardiometabolic improvement.Remission rates were lower than those reported in controlled trials, possibly reflecting differences in study design and definitions.Substantial missing data limit interpretation, and the findings cannot be extrapolated to men or other procedures.