Background: Data are lacking on trends in bariatric surgery and the frequency of incidental findings in Saudi Arabia.
Objective: Report on trends in bariatric surgery as well as our experience in incidental findings along with a literature review (mainly on gastrointestinal stromal tumor).
Design: Retrospective chart and literature review.
Settings: Academic tertiary care center.
Patients and methods: We conducted a retrospective study at King Khalid University Hospital and analyzed the data collected from 2009 to 2019. We collected data on age, body mass index (BMI), H pylori infection, type of bariatric surgery performed, and type and location of incidental findings.
Main outcome measures: Incidental findings during or after bariatric surgery (in pathology specimen).
Sample size: 3052 bariatric surgeries, 46 patients with incidentalomas.
Results: The mean and standard deviation for the age of the 46 patients with incidentalomas was 42.1 (13.9) years and the mean (SD) preoperative BMI was 43.4 (6.4) kg/m2. Of 3052 bariatric surgeries performed, the most common type was sleeve gastrectomy (93.9%), followed by gastric bypass surgery (4.58%) and gastric banding (1.47%). The total frequency of incidentalomas was 1.5%; 10.8% of patients had gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), with the stomach being the commonest site for incidental findings. Eighty percent of the patients with GIST were positive for H pylori (P=.01 vs negative patients).
Conclusion: The number of incidentalomas and other findings were consistent with other reports. All these findings suggest that bariatric surgeons should take special care before, during, and after a laparoscopic operation in obese patients.
Limitations: Since this is a single-center, retrospective study, we did not collect data on important variables such as gender, socioeconomic status of the patient, and family history of obesity, and we did not perform a preoperative esophagogastroduodenoscopy.
Conflict of interest: None.