Page 80 - When surgery alone won’t cut it - Valerie Maureen Monpellier

Chapter 4
weight regain 18. However, due to the strict follow up protocol our study population had underwent, no weight regain occurred (yet); weight was still declining or remained stable in all patients at 24 months. Looking at previous research it is very interesting to further investigate HRQoL and identify other factors which could influence the sta- bilization of HRQoL.
Only RYGB patients were included in this analysis to ensure accurate data-analysis without the bias of difference in weight loss. Because of the increase in the number of patients receiving other types of surgery, such as gastric sleeve, future research should focus on the effect of gastric sleeve surgery on HRQoL.
Because the studied population was the first population in which HRQoL was system- atically assessed not all patients completed HRQoL at all follow-up moments. Despite this, the included population is still the largest bariatric population in which two types of HRQoL questionnaires were assessed.
CONCLUSION
Reported variance in the effect of RYGB on HRQoL can be explained by both the questionnaire used and the weight loss of the researched population; this should be taken into account when the effect of bariatric surgery on HRQoL is studied. HRQoL of pre-bariatric patients is low, and even lower in patients with a higher BMI. HRQoL improves significantly after RYGB when measured with both a specific and a generic questionnaire. However, the improvement in HRQoL is higher when an obesity spe- cific questionnaire is used. The positive effect on HRQoL is greater in patients with a lower BMI and higher %TWL up to 24 months after RYGB. Thus, more weight loss not only has a beneficial effect on medical comorbidities, it also positively influences patient’s well-being. For future studies reporting HRQoL after surgery, mean weight loss and preoperative score should be taken into account.
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