Patients suffering from obesity are more susceptible to comorbidities (diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia), physical disabilities, and low self-esteem, with subsequent reduced quality of life (QoL). Bariatric surgery (BS) has evolved among medical surgeons as an effective treatment not only to achieve sustained weight loss for morbidly obese patients, but also to improve their overall QoL. This study aims at assessing patient satisfaction, Quality of Life (QoL) improvement and post-surgical complications over a 1-year follow-up among people who underwent Bariatric surgery (BS). An observational study was conducted at Al-Qassimi Hospital in the UAE among 86 morbidly obese people, who underwent either Sleeve Gastrectomy or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGP). Impact of BS on weight, patients’ satisfaction, and QoL were assessed prior to the surgery, at 3, 6, and 12 months post-surgery. Patients’ satisfaction was evaluated using Post-Bariatric Satisfaction Questionnaire (PBSQ), and QoL was assessed with the Bariatric Quality of Life Questionnaire (BQoL) and Short Form- 36 (SF-36). ANOVA and Student t-Tests were applied with alpha =0.05. A significant decline in average BMI from 42.0±5.4 Kg/m2 at baseline to 29.9±5.2 Kg/m2 at 12 months (p< 0.001) was noted. Results of PBSQ revealed the majority of patients were satisfied with their entire bodies up to 12 months; however, univariate analysis showed that females, middle-aged, and RYGB patients were dissatisfied with their upper arms at 6 months (p= 0.040, p= 0.046, and p= 0.028; respectively). Post-operative BQoL scores improved markedly over 12 months in a consistent manner (p< 0.001) and negatively correlated with BMI values (p< 0.001). BS is credible in achieving massive weight loss as well as improving patients’ satisfaction and QoL. Moreover, BS is safe, and few cases have reported complications or hospital readmission in the short term. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that bariatric surgery is a credible treatment option for morbid obesity. Our study’s findings provide healthcare providers a supportive evidence of encouraging the overgrowing population of morbidly obese patients, as well as those with obesity- associated comorbidities, to undergo BS based on a shared decision with the medical surgeons.
AlAbdin et al. (Thu,) studied this question.