Gastrectomy material removed after sleeve gastrectomy: Is pathological examination necessary?

Abstract Introduction: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is the most commonly used method in bariatric surgery. The aim of this study is to examine the histopathological findings frequently encountered in the pathological examination of the stomach removed after the sleeve gastrectomy procedure, which is preferred in the surgical treatment of obesity, and to discuss the necessity of routine pathological evaluation of removedstomach. Material and methots: The files of 102 consecutive patients who underwent sleeve gastrectomy between January 2017 and December 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. In the pathological examination, pathologies other than the normal gastric mucosa were evaluated in terms of the severity of inflammation, activity, presence of atrophy, intestinal metaplasia, helicobacter pylori (HP) positivity, and abnormal histopathological findings. Results: The mean age of the patients, the majority of whom were women (n = 79, 77.5%), was 43.2 ± 12.0 (16-69). Mean preoperative body weight was 128.0 ± 16.8 kg; mean body mass index was determined as 46.7 ± 8.4. There was no malignant or premalignant lesion that would change the treatment modality, such as dysplasia or metaplasia, in any of the patients. Discussion: Preoperative endoscopy is important both to find a pathological diagnosis and to determine reflux. We support the opinion that if a pathology is observed in the intraoperative macroscopic examination, the specimen should be submitted for histopathological examination.