ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: We prospectively assessed changes in the lower urinary system functions of women with morbid obesity following laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and the factors affecting these changes. METHODS: Data from 40 females who had undergone laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy due to morbid obesity (body mass index, BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2) between January 2014-2016 at S.B.U. Bursa Yuksek Ihtisas Training and Research Hospital were prospectively evaluated. The presence of comorbidities, onset of obesity, smoking, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, pre and 12-month postoperative weights and BMIs, fasting blood glucose (FBG), blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, insulin, homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) test results, overactive bladder survey (OAB-Q) scores, volume of urination, and Qmax values obtained from uroflowmetry studies were recorded and assessed. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences in weight, BMI, FBG, insulin, HOMA-IR score and creatinine values pre-operation, and the corresponding values obtained at 12 months post-operation were observed (all, p < 0.001). OAB-Q scores were observed to be statistically significantly lower in the postoperative period relative to those in the preoperative period (p < 0.001). Urination volume was statistically significantly higher during the postoperative period (p = 0.048) than during the preoperative period. Non-smoking patients showed a reduction in OAB-Q score and a statistically significant increase in urination volume during the postoperative period (p < 0.001, p = 0.011, respectively); smoking patients indicated a statistically significant reduction in OAB-Q score only during the postoperative period; however, urination volume was not statistically significant between two groups (p = 0.013, p = 0.303). In patients with an ASA score of 1, preoperative OAB-Q scores were statistically significantly lower (p = 0.035) than those obtained post-operation. Patients with childhood-onset obesity showed statistically significantly increased urination volumes during postoperative period in comparison with values obtained pre-operation (p = 0.042). CONCLUSION: Improvements in lower urinary system functions were affected by patient-related factors, such as comorbidity, obesity onset, smoking, ASA score, and weight loss, following laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.