Sleeve Gastrectomy Postoperative Hemorrhage is Linked to Type-2 Diabetes and Not to Surgical Technique

Background: The degree, prevalence, and risk factors linked to sleeve gastrectomy (SG) postoperative hemorrhage (POH) have not been fully defined. Methods: An analysis was conducted on a prospectively collected database of 394 consecutive primary SGs performed in a single practice from January 2014 to December 2015. End points: (1) acute POH, defined by red blood cell (RBC) transfusion and/or re-exploration; (2) subclinical POH, defined by postoperative hemoglobin drop (HgbD) >one standard deviation above mean. Variables tested included three surgical techniques: normal stapling (n = 137), “tight” stapling, (n = 142) and oversewing, (n = 115); age; gender; body mass index (BMI); co-morbidities; and elevated postoperative systolic blood pressure. Results: Acute POH occurred in 11/394 patients (2.8%) and subclinical POH (HgbD > 2.2 g/dL) was detected in 27/312 (7.7%) of patients with available HgbD data. Acute POH patients had a mean HgbD of 5.43 ± 1.40 g/dl (p < 0.001) reflecting approximately 38.6% ± 10.0% of total blood volume. No difference in prevalence of POH was observed for the different surgical techniques. Compared with non-bleeders (n = 312), acute and subclinical POH patients (n = 38) had 52.6 vs. 27.2% prevalence type-2 diabetes (T2D) and 60.5 vs. 40.1% prevalence of dyslipidemia and higher mean preoperative hemoglobin 14.3 ± 11 vs.13.5 ± 1.2 (p < 0.05 for all). On regression analysis, only T2D (OR 2.6; 95% CI 1.2–5.6) and higher level of preoperative hemoglobin (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.3–2.4) were independent risk factors for POH. Conclusion: In this study, acute and subclinical POH were primarily linked to T2D and not to surgical techniques. Special consideration is recommended for patients with T2D undergoing SG.