Bariatric surgery is not contraindicated in obese patients suffering from glycogen storage disease type IXa. A case report with follow-up at three years

INTRODUCTION: Glucose storage disease type IXa (GSD IXa) is an uncommon condition presenting with childhood onset hepatomegaly, growth retardation, and often, fasting ketosis and hypoglycemia. Despite its benign course, the lack of dietary counseling may favor uncontrolled weight gain. We investigated the efficacy of bariatric surgery in one 17 years old female suffering from GSD IXa and morbid obesity. PRESENTATION OF CASE: The diagnosis was GSD type IXa in a patient with a body mass index (BMI) of 45.5 kg/m2. Onset of hypoglycemia was reported twice each month. She was treated her implanting an adjustable gastric banding through laparoscopy. Three years after surgery the patient presents a BMI of 30.1 kg/m2 and an excess of weight loss (EWL) of 71.1%. Only once, following surgery, she had to deflate her band to allow a faster transit of food through her stomach, thus reaching a prompt euglycemic condition, due to an incoming hypoglycemic crisis. DISCUSSION: Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) is one of the most used approaches to treat morbid obesity. It is a restrictive procedure unable to affect the absorption of any nutrient, presenting a very low intra and perioperative complication rate. In our GSD IXa patient, it offered a prompt modification of food intake restriction whenever requested, thus avoiding hypoglycemia. CONCLUSION: LAGB is effective in determining weight loss without inducing significant side effects or worsening hypoglycemia, in this morbid obese patient, suffering from GSD type IXa

Pancreatic surgery outcomes: multicentre prospective snapshot study in 67 countries

Background: Pancreatic surgery remains associated with high morbidity rates. Although postoperative mortality appears to have improved with specialization, the outcomes reported in the literature reflect the activity of highly specialized centres. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes following pancreatic surgery worldwide.Methods: This was an international, prospective, multicentre, cross-sectional snapshot study of consecutive patients undergoing pancreatic operations worldwide in a 3-month interval in 2021. The primary outcome was postoperative mortality within 90 days of surgery. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore relationships with Human Development Index (HDI) and other parameters.Results: A total of 4223 patients from 67 countries were analysed. A complication of any severity was detected in 68.7 percent of patients (2901 of 4223). Major complication rates (Clavien-Dindo grade at least IIIa) were 24, 18, and 27 percent, and mortality rates were 10, 5, and 5 per cent in low-to-middle-, high-, and very high-HDI countries respectively. The 90-day postoperative mortality rate was 5.4 per cent (229 of 4223) overall, but was significantly higher in the low-to-middle-HDI group (adjusted OR 2.88, 95 per cent c.i. 1.80 to 4.48). The overall failure-to-rescue rate was 21 percent; however, it was 41 per cent in low-to-middle-compared with 19 per cent in very high-HDI countries.Conclusion: Excess mortality in low-to-middle-HDI countries could be attributable to failure to rescue of patients from severe complications. The authors call for a collaborative response from international and regional associations of pancreatic surgeons to address management related to death from postoperative complications to tackle the global disparities in the outcomes of pancreatic surgery (NCT04652271; ISRCTN95140761)