Abstract

Background: In the past few years, obesity has become a significant health issue. Bariatric surgery was a common procedure used worldwide to treat severe obesity as well as comorbid conditions, but there’s a lack of information regarding the procedure’s medium-term security and efficacy outcomes in Iraq. Objective: This study was largely contributed to the assessment and analysis of clinical findings of complications related to patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy surgery and the role of anesthesia used. Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study of patients with obesity was conducted, including 70 cases. Data were collected from different hospitals in Iraq over a period ranging from March 2022 to August 2023. All patients underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, during which the duration of the operation, mortality rate, length of stay in the hospital, and patient hospitalization rate were recorded. During the follow-up period, the postoperative results were determined in terms of the complication rate, pain rate, and the assessment of patients’ quality of life. Results: This study examined the clinical findings of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) in a cohort of 70 patients. Of these, 53 were female and 17 were male. The BMI of the patients was classified into three categories: < 40 (40% of cases), 40 – 50 (47.14% of cases), and > 50 (12.86% of cases). The mean operating time was 102.48 ± 10.32 minutes, and the mean hospital stay was less than three days. Bleeding occurred in four cases, and the mean length of follow-up was 33.64 ± 24.10 months. A total of 45 patients were discharged from the hospital in less than three days, while 25 patients were discharged after a stay of more than three days. The mean follow-up period was 33.64 ± 24.10 months; 7 patients experienced postoperative nausea and vomiting, but there are no death cases; 14 patients developed postoperative complications, where the most common being wound infection (3 cases), staple line leakage (2 cases), and symptomatic cholelithiasis (3 cases). The most common complications related to patients were wound infection (3 cases), staple line leakage (2 cases), and symptomatic cholelithiasis (3 cases). Conclusions: Bariatric surgery is a safer and less expensive option for morbidly obese individuals who have not responded to non-surgical therapies. It is effective for patients with higher BMIs and elderly individuals