The impact of pregnancy on postoperative outcomes among obese women who underwent bariatric surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Objectives Women who had a history of bariatric surgery are increasingly becoming pregnant. There is growing evidence showing that increased risk of postoperative complications may be associated with the gestation after bariatric surgery.The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the potential impact of pregnancy on weight loss and postoperative complications in obese women after bariatric surgery. Study design PubMed, Embase, Medline and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trails were searched from inception through October 2018. Selection criteria included observational or randomized trial examining weight loss and medical complications in pregnant compared to non-pregnant women after bariatric surgery. Two reviewers extracted information and performed quality appraisal of eligible articles. Meta-analysis was performed to ascertain the certainty of the evidence when possible. Results Seven observational cohort studies with a total of 27,369 obese women were included in the final analysis. The mean difference (95 % confidence interval) in percent excess weight loss between pregnant and non-pregnant subjects was -9.5 (-19.9, 0.9). The odds ratio (95 % confidence interval) for postoperative complications in pregnant relative to non-pregnant subjects was 0.85 (0.33, 2.18). Conclusions Pregnancy may have little or no effect on weight loss or postoperative complications in women who have undergone bariatric surgery.