TBD Meeting (5360-20)

Not all weight loss surgery patients “live happily ever after,” according to Daniel B. Jones, MD, of Harvard Medical School, Boston.

A 2014 study of 22 women who underwent weight loss surgery reported lower energy, worse quality of life, and persistent eating disorders, Dr. Jones said in a presentation at the virtual Annual Minimally Invasive Surgery Symposium by Global Academy for Medical Education.

However, postprocedure problems don’t always equal regrets, he said. “Although many women [in the 2014 study] reported negative thoughts and health issues after weight loss surgery, none of them said they regret undergoing the procedure,” he noted.

To further examine decision regret in patients who underwent gastric bypass and gastric banding, Dr. Jones participated in a study of patients’ attitudes 4 years after gastric bypass and gastric banding (Obes Surg. 2019;29:1624-31).

“Weight loss surgery is neither risk free nor universally effective, yet few studies have examined what proportion of patients regret having undergone weight loss surgery,” he noted.

Dr. Jones and colleagues interviewed patients at two weight loss surgery centers and used specific metrics and a multivariate analysis to examine associations among weight loss, quality of life, and decision regret.

A total of 205 Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) patients responded at 1 year after surgery: 181, 156, and 134 patients responded at 2, 3, and 4 years, respectively.

At 1 year, 2% reported regret and that they would not choose the surgery again, and by 4 years, 5% reported regret, based on overall regret scores greater than 50. In addition, 13% of patients at 1 year and 4 years reported that weight loss surgery caused “some” or “a lot” of negative effects.

The researchers also interviewed gastric band patients: 170, 157, 146, and 123 responded at years 1,2,3, and 4.

Overall, 8% of these patients expressed regret at 1 year, and 20% expressed regret at 4 years, said Dr. Jones.

“Almost 20% did not think they made the right decision,” he said.

Weight loss was a key driver in regret among gastric banding patients, Dr. Jones noted. An average weight loss of 7.4% of excess body weight was associated with regret scores greater than 50, while an average weight loss of 21.1% was associated with regret scores less than 50, he said.

In addition, poor sexual function, but not weight loss or other quality-of-life factors was significantly associated with regret among RYGB patients.

Many surgeons are performing sleeve gastrectomies, which appear to yield greater weight loss than gastric banding and fewer complications than gastric bypass, said Dr. Jones. His study did not include sleeve gastrectomies, but “I expect a sleeve gastrectomy to do pretty well in this analysis,” and to be associated with less patient regret, he said.

Overall, better patient education is key to improving patients’ experiences and reducing feelings of regret, said Dr. Jones.

“The better patients understand the difference between band, bypass, and sleeve preoperatively, the better we can set expectations,” he said. Dr. Jones’ institution has developed an app for laparoscopic sleeve that guides patients through the process from preop through postoperative stay, he noted.

Given the association between amount of weight lost and regret, “setting expectations is very important,” and could include not only written consent but also webinars, information sessions, and apps for patients in advance to help mitigate regrets after the procedure, Dr. Jones concluded.

Global Academy for Medical Education and this news organization are owned by the same parent company.

Dr. Jones disclosed serving on the medical advisory board for Allurion.

Not all weight loss surgery patients “live happily ever after,” according to Daniel B. Jones, MD, of Harvard Medical School, Boston.

A 2014 study of 22 women who underwent weight loss surgery reported lower energy, worse quality of life, and persistent eating disorders, Dr. Jones said in a presentation at the virtual Annual Minimally Invasive Surgery Symposium by Global Academy for Medical Education.

However, postprocedure problems don’t always equal regrets, he said. “Although many women [in the 2014 study] reported negative thoughts and health issues after weight loss surgery, none of them said they regret undergoing the procedure,” he noted.

To further examine decision regret in patients who underwent gastric bypass and gastric banding, Dr. Jones participated in a study of patients’ attitudes 4 years after gastric bypass and gastric banding (Obes Surg. 2019;29:1624-31).

“Weight loss surgery is neither risk free nor universally effective, yet few studies have examined what proportion of patients regret having undergone weight loss surgery,” he noted.

Dr. Jones and colleagues interviewed patients at two weight loss surgery centers and used specific metrics and a multivariate analysis to examine associations among weight loss, quality of life, and decision regret.

A total of 205 Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) patients responded at 1 year after surgery: 181, 156, and 134 patients responded at 2, 3, and 4 years, respectively.

At 1 year, 2% reported regret and that they would not choose the surgery again, and by 4 years, 5% reported regret, based on overall regret scores greater than 50. In addition, 13% of patients at 1 year and 4 years reported that weight loss surgery caused “some” or “a lot” of negative effects.

The researchers also interviewed gastric band patients: 170, 157, 146, and 123 responded at years 1,2,3, and 4.

Overall, 8% of these patients expressed regret at 1 year, and 20% expressed regret at 4 years, said Dr. Jones.

“Almost 20% did not think they made the right decision,” he said.

Weight loss was a key driver in regret among gastric banding patients, Dr. Jones noted. An average weight loss of 7.4% of excess body weight was associated with regret scores greater than 50, while an average weight loss of 21.1% was associated with regret scores less than 50, he said.

In addition, poor sexual function, but not weight loss or other quality-of-life factors was significantly associated with regret among RYGB patients.

Many surgeons are performing sleeve gastrectomies, which appear to yield greater weight loss than gastric banding and fewer complications than gastric bypass, said Dr. Jones. His study did not include sleeve gastrectomies, but “I expect a sleeve gastrectomy to do pretty well in this analysis,” and to be associated with less patient regret, he said.

Overall, better patient education is key to improving patients’ experiences and reducing feelings of regret, said Dr. Jones.

“The better patients understand the difference between band, bypass, and sleeve preoperatively, the better we can set expectations,” he said. Dr. Jones’ institution has developed an app for laparoscopic sleeve that guides patients through the process from preop through postoperative stay, he noted.

Given the association between amount of weight lost and regret, “setting expectations is very important,” and could include not only written consent but also webinars, information sessions, and apps for patients in advance to help mitigate regrets after the procedure, Dr. Jones concluded.

Global Academy for Medical Education and this news organization are owned by the same parent company.

Dr. Jones disclosed serving on the medical advisory board for Allurion.

Not all weight loss surgery patients “live happily ever after,” according to Daniel B. Jones, MD, of Harvard Medical School, Boston.

A 2014 study of 22 women who underwent weight loss surgery reported lower energy, worse quality of life, and persistent eating disorders, Dr. Jones said in a presentation at the virtual Annual Minimally Invasive Surgery Symposium by Global Academy for Medical Education.

However, postprocedure problems don’t always equal regrets, he said. “Although many women [in the 2014 study] reported negative thoughts and health issues after weight loss surgery, none of them said they regret undergoing the procedure,” he noted.

To further examine decision regret in patients who underwent gastric bypass and gastric banding, Dr. Jones participated in a study of patients’ attitudes 4 years after gastric bypass and gastric banding (Obes Surg. 2019;29:1624-31).

“Weight loss surgery is neither risk free nor universally effective, yet few studies have examined what proportion of patients regret having undergone weight loss surgery,” he noted.

Dr. Jones and colleagues interviewed patients at two weight loss surgery centers and used specific metrics and a multivariate analysis to examine associations among weight loss, quality of life, and decision regret.

A total of 205 Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) patients responded at 1 year after surgery: 181, 156, and 134 patients responded at 2, 3, and 4 years, respectively.

At 1 year, 2% reported regret and that they would not choose the surgery again, and by 4 years, 5% reported regret, based on overall regret scores greater than 50. In addition, 13% of patients at 1 year and 4 years reported that weight loss surgery caused “some” or “a lot” of negative effects.

The researchers also interviewed gastric band patients: 170, 157, 146, and 123 responded at years 1,2,3, and 4.

Overall, 8% of these patients expressed regret at 1 year, and 20% expressed regret at 4 years, said Dr. Jones.

“Almost 20% did not think they made the right decision,” he said.

Weight loss was a key driver in regret among gastric banding patients, Dr. Jones noted. An average weight loss of 7.4% of excess body weight was associated with regret scores greater than 50, while an average weight loss of 21.1% was associated with regret scores less than 50, he said.

In addition, poor sexual function, but not weight loss or other quality-of-life factors was significantly associated with regret among RYGB patients.

Many surgeons are performing sleeve gastrectomies, which appear to yield greater weight loss than gastric banding and fewer complications than gastric bypass, said Dr. Jones. His study did not include sleeve gastrectomies, but “I expect a sleeve gastrectomy to do pretty well in this analysis,” and to be associated with less patient regret, he said.

Overall, better patient education is key to improving patients’ experiences and reducing feelings of regret, said Dr. Jones.

“The better patients understand the difference between band, bypass, and sleeve preoperatively, the better we can set expectations,” he said. Dr. Jones’ institution has developed an app for laparoscopic sleeve that guides patients through the process from preop through postoperative stay, he noted.

Given the association between amount of weight lost and regret, “setting expectations is very important,” and could include not only written consent but also webinars, information sessions, and apps for patients in advance to help mitigate regrets after the procedure, Dr. Jones concluded.

Global Academy for Medical Education and this news organization are owned by the same parent company.

Dr. Jones disclosed serving on the medical advisory board for Allurion.

Planning for reduced use of opioids in pain management involves identifying appropriate patients and managing their expectations, according to according to Timothy E. Miller, MB, ChB, FRCA, of Duke University, Durham, N.C., who is president of the American Society for Enhanced Recovery.

Multimodal analgesia plans can be a beneficial part of enhanced recovery and may reduce or eliminate the need for opioids in some patients, he said in a presentation at the virtual Annual Minimally Invasive Surgery Symposium sponsored by Global Academy for Medical Education.

Dr. Miller shared a treatment algorithm for achieving optimal analgesia in patients after colorectal surgery that combines intravenous or oral analgesia with local anesthetics and additional nonopioid options. The algorithm involves choosing NSAIDs, acetaminophen, or gabapentin for IV/oral use. In addition, options for local anesthetic include with a choice of single-shot transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block.

Careful patient selection is key to an opioid-free or opioid reduced anesthetic strategy, Dr. Miller said. The appropriate patients have “no chronic opioids, no anxiety, and the desire to avoid opioid side effects,” he said.

Opioid-free or opioid-reduced strategies include realigning patient expectations to prepare for pain at a level of 2-4 on a scale of 10 as “expected and reasonable,” he said. Patients given no opioids or reduced opioids may report cramping after laparoscopic surgery, as well as shoulder pain that is referred from the CO₂ bubble under the diaphragm, he said. However, opioids don’t treat the shoulder pain well, and “walking or changing position usually relieves this pain,” and it usually resolves within 24 hours, Dr. Miller noted. “Just letting the patient know what is expected in terms of pain relief in their recovery is hugely important,” he said.

The optimal analgesia after surgery is a plan that combines optimized patient comfort with the fastest functional recovery and the fewest side effects, he emphasized.

Optimized patient comfort includes optimal pain ratings at rest and with movement, a decreasing impact of pain on emotion, function, and sleep disruption, and an improvement in the patient experience, he said. The fastest functional recovery is defined as a return to drinking liquids, eating solid foods, performing activities of daily living, and maintaining normal bladder, bowel, and cognitive function. Side effects to be considered in analgesia included nausea, vomiting, sedation, ileus, itching, dizziness, and delirium, he said.

In an unpublished study, Dr. Miller and colleagues eliminated opioids intraoperatively in a series of 56 cases of laparoscopic cholecystectomy and found significantly less opioids needed in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). In addition, opioid-free patients had significantly shorter length of stay in the PACU, he said. “We are writing this up for publication and looking into doing larger studies,” Dr. Miller said.

Questions include whether the opioid-free technique translates more broadly, he said.

In addition, it is important to continue to collect data and study methods to treat pain and reduce opioid use perioperatively, Dr. Miller said. Some ongoing concerns include data surrounding the use of gabapentin and possible association with respiratory depression, he noted. Several meta-analyses have suggested that “gabapentinoids (gabapentin, pregabalin) when given as a single dose preoperatively are associated with a decrease in postoperative pain and opioid consumption at 24 hours,” said Dr. Miller. “When gabapentinoids are included in multimodal analgesic regimens, intraoperative opioids must be reduced, and increased vigilance for respiratory depression may be warranted, especially in elderly patients,” he said.

Overall, opioid-free anesthesia is both feasible and appropriate in certain patient populations, Dr. Miller concluded. “Implement your pathway and measure your outcomes with timely feedback so you can revise your protocol based on data,” he emphasized.

Global Academy for Medical Education and this news organization are owned by the same parent company.

Dr. Miller disclosed relationships with Edwards Lifesciences, and serving as a board member for the Perioperative Quality Initiative and as a founding member of the Morpheus Consortium.

Planning for reduced use of opioids in pain management involves identifying appropriate patients and managing their expectations, according to according to Timothy E. Miller, MB, ChB, FRCA, of Duke University, Durham, N.C., who is president of the American Society for Enhanced Recovery.

Multimodal analgesia plans can be a beneficial part of enhanced recovery and may reduce or eliminate the need for opioids in some patients, he said in a presentation at the virtual Annual Minimally Invasive Surgery Symposium sponsored by Global Academy for Medical Education.

Dr. Miller shared a treatment algorithm for achieving optimal analgesia in patients after colorectal surgery that combines intravenous or oral analgesia with local anesthetics and additional nonopioid options. The algorithm involves choosing NSAIDs, acetaminophen, or gabapentin for IV/oral use. In addition, options for local anesthetic include with a choice of single-shot transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block.

Careful patient selection is key to an opioid-free or opioid reduced anesthetic strategy, Dr. Miller said. The appropriate patients have “no chronic opioids, no anxiety, and the desire to avoid opioid side effects,” he said.

Opioid-free or opioid-reduced strategies include realigning patient expectations to prepare for pain at a level of 2-4 on a scale of 10 as “expected and reasonable,” he said. Patients given no opioids or reduced opioids may report cramping after laparoscopic surgery, as well as shoulder pain that is referred from the CO₂ bubble under the diaphragm, he said. However, opioids don’t treat the shoulder pain well, and “walking or changing position usually relieves this pain,” and it usually resolves within 24 hours, Dr. Miller noted. “Just letting the patient know what is expected in terms of pain relief in their recovery is hugely important,” he said.

The optimal analgesia after surgery is a plan that combines optimized patient comfort with the fastest functional recovery and the fewest side effects, he emphasized.

Optimized patient comfort includes optimal pain ratings at rest and with movement, a decreasing impact of pain on emotion, function, and sleep disruption, and an improvement in the patient experience, he said. The fastest functional recovery is defined as a return to drinking liquids, eating solid foods, performing activities of daily living, and maintaining normal bladder, bowel, and cognitive function. Side effects to be considered in analgesia included nausea, vomiting, sedation, ileus, itching, dizziness, and delirium, he said.

In an unpublished study, Dr. Miller and colleagues eliminated opioids intraoperatively in a series of 56 cases of laparoscopic cholecystectomy and found significantly less opioids needed in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). In addition, opioid-free patients had significantly shorter length of stay in the PACU, he said. “We are writing this up for publication and looking into doing larger studies,” Dr. Miller said.

Questions include whether the opioid-free technique translates more broadly, he said.

In addition, it is important to continue to collect data and study methods to treat pain and reduce opioid use perioperatively, Dr. Miller said. Some ongoing concerns include data surrounding the use of gabapentin and possible association with respiratory depression, he noted. Several meta-analyses have suggested that “gabapentinoids (gabapentin, pregabalin) when given as a single dose preoperatively are associated with a decrease in postoperative pain and opioid consumption at 24 hours,” said Dr. Miller. “When gabapentinoids are included in multimodal analgesic regimens, intraoperative opioids must be reduced, and increased vigilance for respiratory depression may be warranted, especially in elderly patients,” he said.

Overall, opioid-free anesthesia is both feasible and appropriate in certain patient populations, Dr. Miller concluded. “Implement your pathway and measure your outcomes with timely feedback so you can revise your protocol based on data,” he emphasized.

Global Academy for Medical Education and this news organization are owned by the same parent company.

Dr. Miller disclosed relationships with Edwards Lifesciences, and serving as a board member for the Perioperative Quality Initiative and as a founding member of the Morpheus Consortium.

Planning for reduced use of opioids in pain management involves identifying appropriate patients and managing their expectations, according to according to Timothy E. Miller, MB, ChB, FRCA, of Duke University, Durham, N.C., who is president of the American Society for Enhanced Recovery.

Multimodal analgesia plans can be a beneficial part of enhanced recovery and may reduce or eliminate the need for opioids in some patients, he said in a presentation at the virtual Annual Minimally Invasive Surgery Symposium sponsored by Global Academy for Medical Education.

Dr. Miller shared a treatment algorithm for achieving optimal analgesia in patients after colorectal surgery that combines intravenous or oral analgesia with local anesthetics and additional nonopioid options. The algorithm involves choosing NSAIDs, acetaminophen, or gabapentin for IV/oral use. In addition, options for local anesthetic include with a choice of single-shot transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block.

Careful patient selection is key to an opioid-free or opioid reduced anesthetic strategy, Dr. Miller said. The appropriate patients have “no chronic opioids, no anxiety, and the desire to avoid opioid side effects,” he said.

Opioid-free or opioid-reduced strategies include realigning patient expectations to prepare for pain at a level of 2-4 on a scale of 10 as “expected and reasonable,” he said. Patients given no opioids or reduced opioids may report cramping after laparoscopic surgery, as well as shoulder pain that is referred from the CO₂ bubble under the diaphragm, he said. However, opioids don’t treat the shoulder pain well, and “walking or changing position usually relieves this pain,” and it usually resolves within 24 hours, Dr. Miller noted. “Just letting the patient know what is expected in terms of pain relief in their recovery is hugely important,” he said.

The optimal analgesia after surgery is a plan that combines optimized patient comfort with the fastest functional recovery and the fewest side effects, he emphasized.

Optimized patient comfort includes optimal pain ratings at rest and with movement, a decreasing impact of pain on emotion, function, and sleep disruption, and an improvement in the patient experience, he said. The fastest functional recovery is defined as a return to drinking liquids, eating solid foods, performing activities of daily living, and maintaining normal bladder, bowel, and cognitive function. Side effects to be considered in analgesia included nausea, vomiting, sedation, ileus, itching, dizziness, and delirium, he said.

In an unpublished study, Dr. Miller and colleagues eliminated opioids intraoperatively in a series of 56 cases of laparoscopic cholecystectomy and found significantly less opioids needed in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). In addition, opioid-free patients had significantly shorter length of stay in the PACU, he said. “We are writing this up for publication and looking into doing larger studies,” Dr. Miller said.

Questions include whether the opioid-free technique translates more broadly, he said.

In addition, it is important to continue to collect data and study methods to treat pain and reduce opioid use perioperatively, Dr. Miller said. Some ongoing concerns include data surrounding the use of gabapentin and possible association with respiratory depression, he noted. Several meta-analyses have suggested that “gabapentinoids (gabapentin, pregabalin) when given as a single dose preoperatively are associated with a decrease in postoperative pain and opioid consumption at 24 hours,” said Dr. Miller. “When gabapentinoids are included in multimodal analgesic regimens, intraoperative opioids must be reduced, and increased vigilance for respiratory depression may be warranted, especially in elderly patients,” he said.

Overall, opioid-free anesthesia is both feasible and appropriate in certain patient populations, Dr. Miller concluded. “Implement your pathway and measure your outcomes with timely feedback so you can revise your protocol based on data,” he emphasized.

Global Academy for Medical Education and this news organization are owned by the same parent company.

Dr. Miller disclosed relationships with Edwards Lifesciences, and serving as a board member for the Perioperative Quality Initiative and as a founding member of the Morpheus Consortium.

For surgical patients on chronic opioid therapy, the goals of pain management are to provide adequate analgesia, prevent withdrawal, and avoid relapse or worsening of opioid use, according to Stephanie B. Jones, MD, professor and chair of anesthesiology at Albany Medical College, New York.

“[With] any patient coming in for any sort of surgery, you should be considering multimodal pain management. That applies to the opioid use disorder patient as well,” Dr. Jones said in a presentation at the virtual Annual Minimally Invasive Surgery Symposium sponsored by Global Academy for Medical Education.

“The challenge of opioid-tolerant patients or opioid abuse patients is twofold – tolerance and hyperalgesia,” Dr. Jones said. Patient tolerance changes how patients perceive pain and respond to medication. Clinicians need to consider the “opioid debt,” defined as the daily amount of opioid medication required by opioid-dependent patients to maintain their usual prehospitalization opioid levels, she explained. Also consider hyperalgesia, a change in pain perception “resulting in an increase in pain sensitivity to painful stimuli, thereby decreasing the analgesic effects of opioids,” Dr. Jones added.

A multimodal approach to pain management in patients on chronic opioids can include some opioids as appropriate, Dr. Jones said. Modulation of pain may draw on epidurals and nerve blocks, as well as managing CNS perception of pain through opioids or acetaminophen, and also using systemic options such as alpha-2 agonists and tramadol, she said.

Studies have shown that opioid abuse or dependence were associated with increased readmission rates, length of stay, and health care costs in surgery patients, said Dr. Jones. However, switching opioids and managing equivalents is complex, and “equianalgesic conversions serve only as a general guide to estimate opioid dose equivalents,” according to UpToDate’s, “Management of acute pain in the patient chronically using opioids,” she said.

Dr. Jones also addressed the issue of using hospitalization as an opportunity to help patients with untreated opioid use disorder. Medication-assisted options include methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone.

“One problem with methadone is that there are a lot of medications interactions,” she said. Buprenorphine has the advantage of being long-lasting, and is formulated with naloxone which deters injection. “Because it is a partial agonist, there is a lower risk of overdose and sedation,” and it has fewer medication interactions. However, some doctors are reluctant to prescribe it and there is some risk of medication diversion, she said.

Naltrexone is newer to the role of treating opioid use disorder, Dr. Jones said. “It can cause acute withdrawal because it is a full opioid antagonist,” she noted. However, naltrexone itself causes no withdrawal if stopped, and no respiratory depression or sedation, said Dr. Jones.

“Utilize addiction services in your hospital if you suspect a patient may be at risk for opioid use disorder,” and engage these services early, she emphasized.

Global Academy for Medical Education and this news organization are owned by the same parent company.

Dr. Jones had no financial conflicts to disclose.

For surgical patients on chronic opioid therapy, the goals of pain management are to provide adequate analgesia, prevent withdrawal, and avoid relapse or worsening of opioid use, according to Stephanie B. Jones, MD, professor and chair of anesthesiology at Albany Medical College, New York.

“[With] any patient coming in for any sort of surgery, you should be considering multimodal pain management. That applies to the opioid use disorder patient as well,” Dr. Jones said in a presentation at the virtual Annual Minimally Invasive Surgery Symposium sponsored by Global Academy for Medical Education.

“The challenge of opioid-tolerant patients or opioid abuse patients is twofold – tolerance and hyperalgesia,” Dr. Jones said. Patient tolerance changes how patients perceive pain and respond to medication. Clinicians need to consider the “opioid debt,” defined as the daily amount of opioid medication required by opioid-dependent patients to maintain their usual prehospitalization opioid levels, she explained. Also consider hyperalgesia, a change in pain perception “resulting in an increase in pain sensitivity to painful stimuli, thereby decreasing the analgesic effects of opioids,” Dr. Jones added.

A multimodal approach to pain management in patients on chronic opioids can include some opioids as appropriate, Dr. Jones said. Modulation of pain may draw on epidurals and nerve blocks, as well as managing CNS perception of pain through opioids or acetaminophen, and also using systemic options such as alpha-2 agonists and tramadol, she said.

Studies have shown that opioid abuse or dependence were associated with increased readmission rates, length of stay, and health care costs in surgery patients, said Dr. Jones. However, switching opioids and managing equivalents is complex, and “equianalgesic conversions serve only as a general guide to estimate opioid dose equivalents,” according to UpToDate’s, “Management of acute pain in the patient chronically using opioids,” she said.

Dr. Jones also addressed the issue of using hospitalization as an opportunity to help patients with untreated opioid use disorder. Medication-assisted options include methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone.

“One problem with methadone is that there are a lot of medications interactions,” she said. Buprenorphine has the advantage of being long-lasting, and is formulated with naloxone which deters injection. “Because it is a partial agonist, there is a lower risk of overdose and sedation,” and it has fewer medication interactions. However, some doctors are reluctant to prescribe it and there is some risk of medication diversion, she said.

Naltrexone is newer to the role of treating opioid use disorder, Dr. Jones said. “It can cause acute withdrawal because it is a full opioid antagonist,” she noted. However, naltrexone itself causes no withdrawal if stopped, and no respiratory depression or sedation, said Dr. Jones.

“Utilize addiction services in your hospital if you suspect a patient may be at risk for opioid use disorder,” and engage these services early, she emphasized.

Global Academy for Medical Education and this news organization are owned by the same parent company.

Dr. Jones had no financial conflicts to disclose.

For surgical patients on chronic opioid therapy, the goals of pain management are to provide adequate analgesia, prevent withdrawal, and avoid relapse or worsening of opioid use, according to Stephanie B. Jones, MD, professor and chair of anesthesiology at Albany Medical College, New York.

“[With] any patient coming in for any sort of surgery, you should be considering multimodal pain management. That applies to the opioid use disorder patient as well,” Dr. Jones said in a presentation at the virtual Annual Minimally Invasive Surgery Symposium sponsored by Global Academy for Medical Education.

“The challenge of opioid-tolerant patients or opioid abuse patients is twofold – tolerance and hyperalgesia,” Dr. Jones said. Patient tolerance changes how patients perceive pain and respond to medication. Clinicians need to consider the “opioid debt,” defined as the daily amount of opioid medication required by opioid-dependent patients to maintain their usual prehospitalization opioid levels, she explained. Also consider hyperalgesia, a change in pain perception “resulting in an increase in pain sensitivity to painful stimuli, thereby decreasing the analgesic effects of opioids,” Dr. Jones added.

A multimodal approach to pain management in patients on chronic opioids can include some opioids as appropriate, Dr. Jones said. Modulation of pain may draw on epidurals and nerve blocks, as well as managing CNS perception of pain through opioids or acetaminophen, and also using systemic options such as alpha-2 agonists and tramadol, she said.

Studies have shown that opioid abuse or dependence were associated with increased readmission rates, length of stay, and health care costs in surgery patients, said Dr. Jones. However, switching opioids and managing equivalents is complex, and “equianalgesic conversions serve only as a general guide to estimate opioid dose equivalents,” according to UpToDate’s, “Management of acute pain in the patient chronically using opioids,” she said.

Dr. Jones also addressed the issue of using hospitalization as an opportunity to help patients with untreated opioid use disorder. Medication-assisted options include methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone.

“One problem with methadone is that there are a lot of medications interactions,” she said. Buprenorphine has the advantage of being long-lasting, and is formulated with naloxone which deters injection. “Because it is a partial agonist, there is a lower risk of overdose and sedation,” and it has fewer medication interactions. However, some doctors are reluctant to prescribe it and there is some risk of medication diversion, she said.

Naltrexone is newer to the role of treating opioid use disorder, Dr. Jones said. “It can cause acute withdrawal because it is a full opioid antagonist,” she noted. However, naltrexone itself causes no withdrawal if stopped, and no respiratory depression or sedation, said Dr. Jones.

“Utilize addiction services in your hospital if you suspect a patient may be at risk for opioid use disorder,” and engage these services early, she emphasized.

Global Academy for Medical Education and this news organization are owned by the same parent company.

Dr. Jones had no financial conflicts to disclose.

Bariatric surgery may yield increases in muscle mass from baseline among older adults, findings from a small study suggest.

Although bariatric surgery can be used to treat obesity and related comorbidities in older adults, “here are concerns of excess loss of muscle mass after bariatric surgery, especially in elderly patients whose muscle tends to be less, compared to younger patients, at baseline,” wrote Moiz Dawood, MD, of Banner Gateway Medical Center, Gilbert, Ariz., and colleagues.

In a study presented in a poster at the virtual Annual Minimally Invasive Surgery Symposium sponsored by Global Academy for Medical Education, the researchers reviewed data from 89 adults older than 65 years (74% women) who underwent either laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (87 patients) or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (2 patients) between May 2015 and March 2017.

At baseline, the average total body weight was 251 pounds and the average muscle mass percent was 50%. At 12 months after surgery, the average weight of the patients decreased to 197 pounds and the percentage of muscle mass increased to 55% (P < .001 for both).

The study findings were limited by the small sample size and retrospective design. However, the results support the benefits of bariatric surgery for older adults, not only with reductions in total body weight loss, but also increasing the total percentage of muscle mass, the researchers said.

The study is important in light of the ongoing discussion regarding the age limit for bariatric surgery, Dr. Dawood said in an interview. “Currently there is no upper age cutoff for patients who undergo bariatric surgery, and understanding the relationship between muscle mass and bariatric surgery would help in determining if there was a negative relationship,” he said.

“The results definitely point toward evidence that suggests that elderly patients do not lose muscle mass to a significant degree,” Dr. Dawood noted. “Muscle mass definitions and calculations also include variables such as weight and fat content. With the additional loss in weight after surgery, it was expected that the muscle mass composition would be affected,” he explained. “However, the results clearly show that even up to 1 year after surgery, older patients who lose weight do not lose significant weight from their muscle mass,” he noted.

The take-home message for clinicians, said Dr. Dawood, is “to understand that metabolic and bariatric surgery, when performed cohesively in a unified program that focuses on lifestyle and dietary changes, is the best way to achieve sustained weight loss.” He added, “this study indicates that physiologic changes that occur after weight loss surgery are not detrimental in the elderly population.”

Next steps for research include further studies in the elderly population to examine the physiologic changes that occur after weight loss surgery, said Dr. Dawood. “Being able to characterize the metabolic changes will help in answering the question of whether there is an upper age cut-off for patients undergoing bariatric surgery.”

Global Academy for Medical Education and this news organization are owned by the same parent company. The researchers had no relevant financial conflicts to disclose.

Bariatric surgery may yield increases in muscle mass from baseline among older adults, findings from a small study suggest.

Although bariatric surgery can be used to treat obesity and related comorbidities in older adults, “here are concerns of excess loss of muscle mass after bariatric surgery, especially in elderly patients whose muscle tends to be less, compared to younger patients, at baseline,” wrote Moiz Dawood, MD, of Banner Gateway Medical Center, Gilbert, Ariz., and colleagues.

In a study presented in a poster at the virtual Annual Minimally Invasive Surgery Symposium sponsored by Global Academy for Medical Education, the researchers reviewed data from 89 adults older than 65 years (74% women) who underwent either laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (87 patients) or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (2 patients) between May 2015 and March 2017.

At baseline, the average total body weight was 251 pounds and the average muscle mass percent was 50%. At 12 months after surgery, the average weight of the patients decreased to 197 pounds and the percentage of muscle mass increased to 55% (P < .001 for both).

The study findings were limited by the small sample size and retrospective design. However, the results support the benefits of bariatric surgery for older adults, not only with reductions in total body weight loss, but also increasing the total percentage of muscle mass, the researchers said.

The study is important in light of the ongoing discussion regarding the age limit for bariatric surgery, Dr. Dawood said in an interview. “Currently there is no upper age cutoff for patients who undergo bariatric surgery, and understanding the relationship between muscle mass and bariatric surgery would help in determining if there was a negative relationship,” he said.

“The results definitely point toward evidence that suggests that elderly patients do not lose muscle mass to a significant degree,” Dr. Dawood noted. “Muscle mass definitions and calculations also include variables such as weight and fat content. With the additional loss in weight after surgery, it was expected that the muscle mass composition would be affected,” he explained. “However, the results clearly show that even up to 1 year after surgery, older patients who lose weight do not lose significant weight from their muscle mass,” he noted.

The take-home message for clinicians, said Dr. Dawood, is “to understand that metabolic and bariatric surgery, when performed cohesively in a unified program that focuses on lifestyle and dietary changes, is the best way to achieve sustained weight loss.” He added, “this study indicates that physiologic changes that occur after weight loss surgery are not detrimental in the elderly population.”

Next steps for research include further studies in the elderly population to examine the physiologic changes that occur after weight loss surgery, said Dr. Dawood. “Being able to characterize the metabolic changes will help in answering the question of whether there is an upper age cut-off for patients undergoing bariatric surgery.”

Global Academy for Medical Education and this news organization are owned by the same parent company. The researchers had no relevant financial conflicts to disclose.

Bariatric surgery may yield increases in muscle mass from baseline among older adults, findings from a small study suggest.

Although bariatric surgery can be used to treat obesity and related comorbidities in older adults, “here are concerns of excess loss of muscle mass after bariatric surgery, especially in elderly patients whose muscle tends to be less, compared to younger patients, at baseline,” wrote Moiz Dawood, MD, of Banner Gateway Medical Center, Gilbert, Ariz., and colleagues.

In a study presented in a poster at the virtual Annual Minimally Invasive Surgery Symposium sponsored by Global Academy for Medical Education, the researchers reviewed data from 89 adults older than 65 years (74% women) who underwent either laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (87 patients) or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (2 patients) between May 2015 and March 2017.

At baseline, the average total body weight was 251 pounds and the average muscle mass percent was 50%. At 12 months after surgery, the average weight of the patients decreased to 197 pounds and the percentage of muscle mass increased to 55% (P < .001 for both).

The study findings were limited by the small sample size and retrospective design. However, the results support the benefits of bariatric surgery for older adults, not only with reductions in total body weight loss, but also increasing the total percentage of muscle mass, the researchers said.

The study is important in light of the ongoing discussion regarding the age limit for bariatric surgery, Dr. Dawood said in an interview. “Currently there is no upper age cutoff for patients who undergo bariatric surgery, and understanding the relationship between muscle mass and bariatric surgery would help in determining if there was a negative relationship,” he said.

“The results definitely point toward evidence that suggests that elderly patients do not lose muscle mass to a significant degree,” Dr. Dawood noted. “Muscle mass definitions and calculations also include variables such as weight and fat content. With the additional loss in weight after surgery, it was expected that the muscle mass composition would be affected,” he explained. “However, the results clearly show that even up to 1 year after surgery, older patients who lose weight do not lose significant weight from their muscle mass,” he noted.

The take-home message for clinicians, said Dr. Dawood, is “to understand that metabolic and bariatric surgery, when performed cohesively in a unified program that focuses on lifestyle and dietary changes, is the best way to achieve sustained weight loss.” He added, “this study indicates that physiologic changes that occur after weight loss surgery are not detrimental in the elderly population.”

Next steps for research include further studies in the elderly population to examine the physiologic changes that occur after weight loss surgery, said Dr. Dawood. “Being able to characterize the metabolic changes will help in answering the question of whether there is an upper age cut-off for patients undergoing bariatric surgery.”

Global Academy for Medical Education and this news organization are owned by the same parent company. The researchers had no relevant financial conflicts to disclose.

Patients who underwent conversion to a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy after a previous laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding procedure experienced similar weight loss with either a one- or two-step procedure, a study of 78 patients showed.

“Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) has largely fallen out of favor, likely related to variable efficacy in weight reduction coupled with poor effectiveness in reducing obesity related comorbidities like type 2 diabetes and hypercholesterolemia,” Vasu Chirumamilla, MD, of Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, N.Y., and colleagues wrote in a poster presented at the virtual Annual Minimally Invasive Surgery Symposium sponsored by Global Academy for Medical Education.

LAGB also can cause complications including, slippage, erosion, and gastric pouch dilation; subsequently many patients undergo conversion to laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). However, the impact of a one-step vs. two-step conversion procedure on patient weight loss remains unclear, the researchers said.

To compare weight loss after the two types of procedures, the researchers reviewed data from 78 patients (71 women) aged 15-74 years treated between 2013 and 2018 at a multi-surgeon, private practice bariatric surgery center. All patients had a history of LAGB; 31 underwent conversion to LSG in one stage, and 47 underwent conversion in two stages. Weight loss, defined as the percentage excess weight loss, was the primary endpoint.

The average excess weight loss was 44% for patients in both the one-stage and two-stage groups, and body mass index decreased by 8.9 points and 8.8 points, respectively, in the two groups, the researchers wrote.

Patients in the two-stage group experienced a significant increase in body mass index (P = .008) during the time between band removal to sleeve gastrectomy, which was an average of 207 days, they said.

The findings were limited in part by the small sample size and retrospective design, and more data are needed to compare complication rates in one-stage and two-stage procedures, the researchers noted. However, the results showed “no difference in excess weight loss in patients converted from laparoscopic adjustable gastric band to sleeve gastrectomy in one-stage versus a two-stage procedure,” they concluded.

“LAGB used to be a very popular weight loss procedure – bands were placed in a great deal of patients,” Dr. Chirumamilla said in an interview. “Now those patients are presenting with increasing frequency to bariatric surgeons with band complications or weight regain. The volume for LSG is increasing and results in percentage excess weight loss of approximately 65% versus approximately 42% for LAGB,” he said. A goal of the study was to provide patients and the surgeons with a more informed approach to performing and consenting to the particular operation, he added.

“The results have not surprised us, because as long as done by experienced surgeons on compliant patients the weight loss outcomes from the day of surgery onward should be equivalent,” Dr. Chirumamilla explained. “We were also not surprised to find that patients undergoing a two-stage conversion gained weight before their second-stage sleeve gastrectomy.”

The bottom line for clinicians is that “patients getting a conversion from band to sleeve in one-stage versus two-stages experience the same percentage excess body weight loss from time of surgery,” although two-stage patients do gain weight while awaiting their second-stage sleeve gastrectomy, Dr. Chirumamilla said.

“More research is needed to compare short- and long-term complications rates between one-stage and two-stage conversions. The ideal research situation would be a randomized, multicenter, large volume study to reduce bias,” he noted.

Dr. Chirumamilla’s collaborators included Akia Caine MD, Zachary Ballinger, Rebecca Castro, Thomas Cerabona MD, and Ashutosh Kaul MD, of the surgical group Advanced Surgeons at nygetfit.com.

Global Academy for Medical Education and this news organization are owned by the same parent company. The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.
 

SOURCE: Chirumamilla V et al. MISS 2020. Poster PA-14.

Patients who underwent conversion to a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy after a previous laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding procedure experienced similar weight loss with either a one- or two-step procedure, a study of 78 patients showed.

“Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) has largely fallen out of favor, likely related to variable efficacy in weight reduction coupled with poor effectiveness in reducing obesity related comorbidities like type 2 diabetes and hypercholesterolemia,” Vasu Chirumamilla, MD, of Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, N.Y., and colleagues wrote in a poster presented at the virtual Annual Minimally Invasive Surgery Symposium sponsored by Global Academy for Medical Education.

LAGB also can cause complications including, slippage, erosion, and gastric pouch dilation; subsequently many patients undergo conversion to laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). However, the impact of a one-step vs. two-step conversion procedure on patient weight loss remains unclear, the researchers said.

To compare weight loss after the two types of procedures, the researchers reviewed data from 78 patients (71 women) aged 15-74 years treated between 2013 and 2018 at a multi-surgeon, private practice bariatric surgery center. All patients had a history of LAGB; 31 underwent conversion to LSG in one stage, and 47 underwent conversion in two stages. Weight loss, defined as the percentage excess weight loss, was the primary endpoint.

The average excess weight loss was 44% for patients in both the one-stage and two-stage groups, and body mass index decreased by 8.9 points and 8.8 points, respectively, in the two groups, the researchers wrote.

Patients in the two-stage group experienced a significant increase in body mass index (P = .008) during the time between band removal to sleeve gastrectomy, which was an average of 207 days, they said.

The findings were limited in part by the small sample size and retrospective design, and more data are needed to compare complication rates in one-stage and two-stage procedures, the researchers noted. However, the results showed “no difference in excess weight loss in patients converted from laparoscopic adjustable gastric band to sleeve gastrectomy in one-stage versus a two-stage procedure,” they concluded.

“LAGB used to be a very popular weight loss procedure – bands were placed in a great deal of patients,” Dr. Chirumamilla said in an interview. “Now those patients are presenting with increasing frequency to bariatric surgeons with band complications or weight regain. The volume for LSG is increasing and results in percentage excess weight loss of approximately 65% versus approximately 42% for LAGB,” he said. A goal of the study was to provide patients and the surgeons with a more informed approach to performing and consenting to the particular operation, he added.

“The results have not surprised us, because as long as done by experienced surgeons on compliant patients the weight loss outcomes from the day of surgery onward should be equivalent,” Dr. Chirumamilla explained. “We were also not surprised to find that patients undergoing a two-stage conversion gained weight before their second-stage sleeve gastrectomy.”

The bottom line for clinicians is that “patients getting a conversion from band to sleeve in one-stage versus two-stages experience the same percentage excess body weight loss from time of surgery,” although two-stage patients do gain weight while awaiting their second-stage sleeve gastrectomy, Dr. Chirumamilla said.

“More research is needed to compare short- and long-term complications rates between one-stage and two-stage conversions. The ideal research situation would be a randomized, multicenter, large volume study to reduce bias,” he noted.

Dr. Chirumamilla’s collaborators included Akia Caine MD, Zachary Ballinger, Rebecca Castro, Thomas Cerabona MD, and Ashutosh Kaul MD, of the surgical group Advanced Surgeons at nygetfit.com.

Global Academy for Medical Education and this news organization are owned by the same parent company. The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.
 

SOURCE: Chirumamilla V et al. MISS 2020. Poster PA-14.

Patients who underwent conversion to a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy after a previous laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding procedure experienced similar weight loss with either a one- or two-step procedure, a study of 78 patients showed.

“Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) has largely fallen out of favor, likely related to variable efficacy in weight reduction coupled with poor effectiveness in reducing obesity related comorbidities like type 2 diabetes and hypercholesterolemia,” Vasu Chirumamilla, MD, of Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, N.Y., and colleagues wrote in a poster presented at the virtual Annual Minimally Invasive Surgery Symposium sponsored by Global Academy for Medical Education.

LAGB also can cause complications including, slippage, erosion, and gastric pouch dilation; subsequently many patients undergo conversion to laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). However, the impact of a one-step vs. two-step conversion procedure on patient weight loss remains unclear, the researchers said.

To compare weight loss after the two types of procedures, the researchers reviewed data from 78 patients (71 women) aged 15-74 years treated between 2013 and 2018 at a multi-surgeon, private practice bariatric surgery center. All patients had a history of LAGB; 31 underwent conversion to LSG in one stage, and 47 underwent conversion in two stages. Weight loss, defined as the percentage excess weight loss, was the primary endpoint.

The average excess weight loss was 44% for patients in both the one-stage and two-stage groups, and body mass index decreased by 8.9 points and 8.8 points, respectively, in the two groups, the researchers wrote.

Patients in the two-stage group experienced a significant increase in body mass index (P = .008) during the time between band removal to sleeve gastrectomy, which was an average of 207 days, they said.

The findings were limited in part by the small sample size and retrospective design, and more data are needed to compare complication rates in one-stage and two-stage procedures, the researchers noted. However, the results showed “no difference in excess weight loss in patients converted from laparoscopic adjustable gastric band to sleeve gastrectomy in one-stage versus a two-stage procedure,” they concluded.

“LAGB used to be a very popular weight loss procedure – bands were placed in a great deal of patients,” Dr. Chirumamilla said in an interview. “Now those patients are presenting with increasing frequency to bariatric surgeons with band complications or weight regain. The volume for LSG is increasing and results in percentage excess weight loss of approximately 65% versus approximately 42% for LAGB,” he said. A goal of the study was to provide patients and the surgeons with a more informed approach to performing and consenting to the particular operation, he added.

“The results have not surprised us, because as long as done by experienced surgeons on compliant patients the weight loss outcomes from the day of surgery onward should be equivalent,” Dr. Chirumamilla explained. “We were also not surprised to find that patients undergoing a two-stage conversion gained weight before their second-stage sleeve gastrectomy.”

The bottom line for clinicians is that “patients getting a conversion from band to sleeve in one-stage versus two-stages experience the same percentage excess body weight loss from time of surgery,” although two-stage patients do gain weight while awaiting their second-stage sleeve gastrectomy, Dr. Chirumamilla said.

“More research is needed to compare short- and long-term complications rates between one-stage and two-stage conversions. The ideal research situation would be a randomized, multicenter, large volume study to reduce bias,” he noted.

Dr. Chirumamilla’s collaborators included Akia Caine MD, Zachary Ballinger, Rebecca Castro, Thomas Cerabona MD, and Ashutosh Kaul MD, of the surgical group Advanced Surgeons at nygetfit.com.

Global Academy for Medical Education and this news organization are owned by the same parent company. The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.
 

SOURCE: Chirumamilla V et al. MISS 2020. Poster PA-14.