Assessing risk factors, presentation, and management of portomesenteric vein thrombosis after sleeve gastrectomy: a multicenter case-control study

Abstract Background Portomesenteric vein thrombosis (PMVT) is a rare complication of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. Objectives To identify incidence, patient factors, diagnosis, and treatment of PMVT after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy in a large administrative data registry. Setting Academic Hospitals and Private Practices, United States. Methods A retrospective chart review of 5538 sleeve gastrectomy patients between January 1, 2008 and September 30, 2016 was performed at 5 bariatric centers in the United States. A total of 11 patients were identified as developing PMVT, and 3 controls for each patient were selected by matching age, sex, preoperative body mass index, and center. Results After adjusting for confounding variables, 2 patient factors significantly impacted the risk of PMVT after sleeve gastrectomy including personal history of malignancy (odds ratio 62, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.4–99.9), and type 2 diabetes (odds ratio 12.7, 95% CI 1.2–137.3) compared with controls. Mean period from laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy to presentation of PMVT was 19.3 ± 15.11 days (range, 8–62). All patients except 1 complained of abdominal pain as the main presenting symptom. Other complaints included nausea and vomiting, no bowel movement, decreased appetite, diarrhea, and dehydration, and leukocytosis was present in 45.5% of the patients. All diagnoses were made by using computed tomography. All initial treatments were anticoagulation, heparin drip being the most common method (90.9%). Of patients, 9 (81.8%) required a secondary anticoagulation therapy, and 1 (9.1%) patient required a reoperation. Conclusion Incidence of PMVT is low after sleeve gastrectomy. A personal history of malignancy and type 2 diabetes increase the risk of PMVT. Increasing abdominal pain in a context of dehydration is common presenting symptoms with diagnosis confirmed by computed tomography. Anticoagulation is the standard treatment. There was no mortality associated with the occurrence of PMVT in this cohort.