The Use of DEXA Scanning to Screen for VAT and Help Determine Metabolic Risk for Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery

It is known that visceral adiposity is associated with an increased risk for metabolic syndrome. Bariatric surgery decreases the risk of metabolic syndrome and its components. The relation to this decrease in risk has been shown to correlate with decrease in visceral abdominal tissue (VAT). The current measuring techniques for VAT include US, CT, MRI, DEXA scan. Of these DEXA has a lower radiation exposure with very accurate results when compared to computerized tomography. It is less expensive than MRI and can be done easily in the office setting without the need for a highly skilled technician like US. Our group is currently gathering data measuring VAT via iDEXA(General Electric) machine. Our goal is to ascertain the loss of VAT after bariatric surgery as compared to overall weight loss. We will also compare VAT loss after sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass.