Delayed Gastric Emptying After Sleeve Gastrectomy Is Associated with Poor Weight Loss

Background Intermediate to long-term weight regain is a major challenge following sleeve gastrectomy (SG). Physiological changes that mediate the extent of weight loss remain unclear. We aimed to determine if there were specific esophago-gastric transit and emptying alterations associated with weight regain. Material and Methods Participants greater than 12 months post-SG were categorized into optimal ( n = 29) and poor weight loss (PWL) ( n = 72). All patients underwent a liquid contrast barium swallow demonstrating normal post-surgical anatomy and a protocolized nuclear scintigraphy designed specifically to characterize gastric emptying following SG. Results The %total weight loss in the optimal group was 26.2 ± 10.5 vs. 14.3 ± 8.8% in the PWL group ( p = 0.001). Scintigraphy showed PWL had relatively increased gastric emptying half-time (GE 1/2t ) 35 (IQR 23) min vs 19 (IQR 5.5) min ( p = 0.001). The multivariate regressions delineated GE 1/2t as the best diagnostic measure for PWL (OR 1.16; CI 1.04–1.29, p -value 0.021). The probability of PWL increased by 16% for every 1-min increase above 21 min of GE 1/2t . A threshold of 21 min was found to have 88% sensitivity and 69% specificity predicting poor weight loss. Conclusion Gastric emptying half-times greater than 21 min appear to reliably correlate with poor weight loss following SG. Additionally, further elevations above 21 min in emptying half-time increase the risk of poor weight loss. We have shown nuclear scintigraphy represents a simple and accurate diagnostic tool in patients who experience poor weight loss after SG, provided substantially altered reporting references in interpreting nuclear scintigraphy are applied. Graphical abstract