Feasibility of combining oncology surgery with bariatric surgery; a two-patient case series of sleeve gastrectomy with cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC.

Patients with an oncologic disease requiring cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy may also present with morbid obesity. In some patients, it may be possible to offer bariatric surgery such as sleeve gastrectomy in combination with their cancer resection to treat both diseases concurrently. Two such cases are described where sleeve gastrectomy was done alongside the primary oncologic surgery in the same procedure. Our patients had long-term follow-ups and their overall outcomes were favorable. They achieved remission and acceptable levels of weight loss over their several years of follow-up appointments. The added benefit of bariatric surgery may decrease long-term morbidity and mortality in carefully selected patients. More studies are indicated to fully understand the risks of benefits of this combined procedure in order to offer it on a wider scale.

Underweight, body image, and weight loss measures among adolescents in Saudi Arabia: is it a fad or is there more going on?

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Adolescence is considered to be a pivotal point in which optimum nutrition and eating habits are developed. Although tackling the obesity epidemic has been much discussed, addressing the issue of underweight and body image is often neglected. This study was carried out to get a better understanding of underweight status among adolescents in Saudi Arabia, and exploring self-perceptions of body image and weight loss measures among underweight adolescents. METHODS: Data from Jeeluna®, a national cross-sectional school-based survey were utilized. Jeeluna® assessed the health status and health-risk behaviors of adolescents in school through data obtained by a self-administered questionnaire, anthropologic measurements, and laboratory investigations. RESULTS: A total of 12,463 adolescents participated. Eighteen percent of adolescent males and 12.4% of females were found to be underweight, representing 14.9% of adolescents collectively. Forty-five percent of underweight participants were happy with their weight. Underweight females between the age group of 10 and 14 years were the most likely to believe that they still need to lose weight (16.0%) followed by females aged 15-19 years (9.7%). Underweight females aged 10-14 years were also the group most likely to engage in purging (1.6%). Stepwise logistic regression found that the strongest association with being underweight was with having a lower household income (OR 2.0, CI 1.5-2.7) and having more than 5 siblings (OR 1.8, CI 1.5-2.3). CONCLUSION: Underweight status is prevalent among adolescents in Saudi Arabia and deserves more attention as a public health issue. Distorted body image and disordered eating behaviors exist, necessitating further investigation of underlying causes.