Metabolic Surgery Reduces Liver Disease Risk in Patients with MASH-Related Cirrhosis: Study

The cumulative incidence of MALO was 20.9% in the surgical group versus 46.4% in the nonsurgical group. This translates to a 72% lower risk of MALO among patients who underwent metabolic surgery (adjusted hazard ratio 0.28, P=0.003).

The incidence of decompensated cirrhosis where the liver can no longer maintain normal function, was 15.6% in the surgical group when compared to 30.7% in the nonsurgical group. This reflected an 80% lower risk (adjusted hazard ratio 0.20, P=0.01). The findings illuminate the potential role of metabolic surgery in altering the long-term trajectory of cirrhosis in patients with obesity and compensated MASH.

These data suggest that metabolic surgery is not just a weight-loss tool but also a potent therapeutic option for improving liver health. In addition, this has major implications for the future care of patients with cirrhosis linked to metabolic dysfunction. Overall, this study highlights the transformative potential of metabolic surgery as a safe and impactful option.

Source:

Aminian, A., Aljabri, A., Wang, S., Bena, J., Allende, D. S., Rosen, H., Arnold, E., Wilson, R., Milinovich, A., Loomba, R., Sanyal, A. J., Alkhouri, N., Wakim-Fleming, J., Laique, S. N., Dasarathy, S., McCullough, A. J., & Nissen, S. E. (2025). Long-term liver outcomes after metabolic surgery in compensated cirrhosis due to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. Nature Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03480-y