Resuming Bariatric Surgery Procedures During COVID-19 Pandemic: Early Surgical Outcomes at a Tertiary Referral Center in the Middle East.

BACKGROUND

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, elective surgical procedures have been delayed. Even with the implementation of surgical societies' recommendations, patient safety remains a concern. This study evaluates the postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing bariatric surgery after reopening (RO) elective surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

All patients who underwent bariatric surgery from September 2015 to July 2020 were included. Patients were divided into two cohorts: the pre-COVID-19 (PC) cohort and the RO cohort. Propensity score weighting was used to evaluate postoperative outcomes.

RESULTS

Our study included 1076 patients, 1015 patients were in the PC and 61 patients in the RO. Sixty-four percent were female with a mean age of 37 years and median body mass index of 41 kg/m. There were no statistically significant differences in 30 days perioperative outcomes, including emergency department visits 24.8% PC versus 19.7% RO ( = 0.492), readmission 4.2% PC versus 8.2% RO ( = 0.361), reoperation 2.6% PC versus 0% RO ( = 0.996), and major complications 4.0% PC versus 4.9% RO ( = 0.812). No patients in the RO contracted COVID-19.

CONCLUSIONS

With the appropriate policies and precautionary measures, there appear to be no differences in the 30-day postoperative outcomes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.