Background

Obesity is a leading cause of preventable death worldwide. As the elderly become the fastest growing population, they too face this epidemic. Bariatric surgery aids in weight loss and decreases obesity-related co-morbid conditions. We aimed to quantify excess weight loss (EWL) for elderly patients undergoing bariatric surgery at a single institution and compare our results to EWL previously reported for general and elderly populations. We hypothesized that EWL for our elderly population would be statistically similar to previously reported EWL in general and elderly populations.

Methods

Bariatric surgery performed from 2011-2017 at a single institution by 4 bariatric surgeons was analyzed. Weight loss was measured at 3, 6, and 12 month follow-up. 103 patients met inclusion criteria - mean age of 65.75 years old and mean preoperative BMI of 45.95 kg/m2. Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (87.4%) and laparoscopic gastric bypass (12.6%) were both included in the study.

Results

Mean EWL of was 31.9%, 43.7%, and 53.4% at 3, 6 , 12 months respectively. EWL at one year was statically the same as prior reviews of elderly bariatric patients (EWL 53.37%) (p = 0.995). Our elderly patients lost less weight than the general population (EWL 61.2%) (p <0.001). No thirty day mortality was observed. Average length of hospital stay was 1.58 days.

Conclusions

Our elderly patients undergoing bariatric surgery were noted to have EWL similar to those previously reported in both the non-elderly and elderly populations. Bariatric surgery is both efficacious and well tolerated in the elderly population with repeatable results.