Preoperative Cardiac, Pulmonary and Digestive Comorbidities of Morbidly Obese Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery: Morbidity, Assessment and Management.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To investigate a proper preoperative assessment and management of preoperative cardiac, pulmonary and digestive comorbidities in morbidly obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery.

METHODOLOGY: A general description of comorbidities in bariatric patients was reviewed and a clinical practice path in assessment and management of comorbidities was summarized.

RESULTS

Morbidly obese patients frequently carried serious comorbidities in cardiovascular, pulmonary and digestive systems. The most common abnormalities included hypertension, left ventricular wall hypertrophy, ST and T wave abnormalities, obstructive sleep apnea, ventilatory dysfunction, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. A routine specialized preoperative evaluation could find the potential abnormality and screen the appropriate patients. Prophylactic treatments obviously reduced the morbidity of peri-operative complications

CONCLUSION

Comprehensive preoperative evaluation and proper management is essential to appropriately select and prepare bariatric patients, and minimize surgical risk.