Weight loss Surgery Improves Chances for Heart Transplant in Obese patients

The study also aimed to compare two variations of the paired approach: LVAD surgery and bariatric surgery at the same time, versus a staged approach, where bariatric surgery was performed as a separate operation on average two years after LVAD. Researchers included a total of eight studies in the meta-analysis, making up a total of 58 patients who underwent dual-surgeries for LVAD and bariatric surgery. Of these 22 had simultaneous surgeries and 37 had staged.

"The goal of the study was really to see if these two surgeries could improve a patient's chance of eligibility for heart transplant, which is the best long-term treatment for heart failure," says Dr. Tchantchaleishvili.

The researchers found that during the average follow-up of one year, 66% of these previously ineligible patients met listing requirement for heart transplant, and 33% got actually transplanted. Both simultaneous and staged approaches were comparable in terms of outcomes, including significantly reducing the body weight.

"Many people don't realize that heart failure can be a multi-year disease," says co-author Todd Massey, MD, the surgical director of the heart transplant program at Jefferson Health. "Our results show that we can improve a patients chances of successfully being put on a transplant list by pairing these surgeries."

"This research will hopefully give providers the evidence and tools to focus on obesity as a clinically important and treatable disease, rather than as a failing on the part of the patient," says co-author Rajesh Aggarwal, MD, a professor of surgery, a bariatric surgeon and senior executive vice president of strategic ventures at Jefferson Health.