Resolution of Symptomatic Obstructive Sleep Apnea Not Impacted by Preoperative Body Mass Index, Choice of Operation Between Sleeve Gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery, or Severity

• Published in: Obesity surgery Vol. 28; no. 5; pp. 1402 - 1407
• Main Authors: Hariri, Kamyar, Kini, Subhash U., Herron, Daniel M., Fernandez-Ranvier, Gustavo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.05.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Body mass index; Gastrointestinal surgery; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Obesity; Original Contributions; Sleep apnea; Surgery; Surgical outcomes; Surgical techniques; Weight control; Obesity class; Obstructive sleep apnea; Remission rates; Bariatric surgery
• ISSN: 0960-8923; 1708-0428
• DOI: 10.1007/s11695-017-3042-6

Background Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a serious obesity-associated disorder that causes significant short- and long-term medical consequences. Objective The objective of this study is to compare the 6-month and 1-year postoperative symptomatic OSA remission rates of patients undergoing bariatric surgery based on their preoperative body mass index (BMI) stratification, type of bariatric operation—sleeve gastrectomy (SG) or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB)—and OSA severity. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 297 obese patients with a diagnosis of OSA who had undergone either SG or RYGB between 2011 and 2015. Results The overall 6-month symptomatic OSA remission rate for patients ( n  = 255) was 74.5%. At 6 months, patients with a preoperative BMI of 30–34.9 kg/m 2 (class I), 35–39.9 kg/m 2 (class II), and 40+ kg/m 2 (class III) had 100, 70.0, and 75.0% ( p  = 0.2164) remission rates, respectively. The 6-month remission rates for SG and RYGB were 75.3 and 70.8% ( p  = 0.5165), respectively. The overall 1-year symptomatic OSA remission rate for patients ( n  = 162) was 87.1%. At 1 year, class I, II, and III patients had 100, 85.7, and 87.5% ( p  = 0.5740) remission rates, respectively. The 1-year remission rates for SG and RYGB were 89.2 and 81.2% ( p  = 0.2189), respectively. A sub-analysis ( n  = 69) based on preoperative OSA severity levels did not affect the remission outcome at either the 6-month ( p  = 0.3670) or 1-year ( p  = 0.3004) follow-up. Conclusion Most obese patients experience symptomatic remission of their OSA after bariatric surgery, regardless of their preoperative BMI, choice of operation, or OSA severity.