Thromboembolic prophylaxis in bariatric and metabolic surgery: state-of-the-art according to the results of a nationwide registry study.

The present study employed a large scaled multicenter nationwide study data analysis to elucidate the impact of thromboembolism prophylaxis (TEP) in the context of bariatric and metabolic surgery and to investigate the peri- and postoperative complications associated with TEP. A total of 63,909 patients who underwent primary bariatric surgery between 2005 and 2020 were included in the analysis. The data were collected prospectively and multicentrically in the German Bariatric Surgery Registry (GBSR) and subsequently analyzed retrospectively. A p value of ≤ 0.05 was deemed to correspond to a significant result. 96.65% of patients were prophylactically anticoagulated postoperatively. 99.3% of the anticoagulated patients received low molecular weight heparin on a median of 7 days. With regard to postoperative complications, a significantly higher incidence of transfusion (p < 0.001) or postoperative bleeding requiring surgery (p = 0.002) was observed in the group of patients who underwent TEP. At 0.67% and 0.87% respectively, these were nevertheless rare complications. The incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) (TEP n = 46, no TEP n = 1; p = 0.642) and pulmonary artery embolism (PAE) was 0.1% each (TEP n = 57, no TEP n = 2; p = 0.985). The surgical technique was associated with a minimal risk of consequences for DVT. Here was the occurrence of DVT following surgical procedures in patients with TEP 0.1% for gastric banding (GB) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG), and less than 0.1% for Roux-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). The mortality rate was between patients with TEP and patients without TEP not significantly different (n [TEP] = 102; 0.17%, n [no TEP] = 6; 0.28%) (p = 0.198). The study's findings validate the efficacy of TEP in bariatric surgery. However, to prevent adverse TEP consequences, like hemorrhage, the dosage and timing of prophylactic medication must be appropriately modified. However, it is evident that randomized controlled trials are necessary to establish uniform, high-quality recommendations on TEP.