Background: Morbidly obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery have commo
nly been concluded to be at high risk for the development of perioperative
venous thromboembolism. Due to its clinically silent nature, primary preven
tion is the key to reduce morbidity and mortality. There is no clear consen
sus in the literature regarding the optimum approach to minimize this preve
ntable phenomenon.
Methods: Members of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery were surveye
d regarding their current practices in the prophylaxis of venous thromboemb
olism in their bariatric patients.
Results: 31% of the members completed the survey. 62% were in private pract
ice, and 38% practiced in an academic hospital. The number of bariatric sur
geries done per year ranged from 5 to 325, with a mean of 85 procedures per
member. The gastric bypass was the most commonly performed procedure at 61
.7%, followed by vertical banded gastroplasty at 23.3%, biliary pancreatic
diversion at 9.3%, laparoscopic gastroplasty at 4.0%, laparoscopic gastric
bypass at 1.6%, and horizontal banded gastroplasty at 0.1%. 86% felt that t
heir bariatric patients were at high risk for developing deep vein thrombos
is (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) with a self-reported incidence of 2.63
% and 0.95%, respectively. 48% had at least one death due to PE. Routine pr
ophylaxis is used by over 95% of members. 62% ranked the various methods of
prophylaxis from most preferred to least preferred, while 38% used a combi
nation of 2 or more prophylactic methods simultaneously. Low-dose heparin w
as the most preferred prophylaxis by 50% of members, followed by intermitte
nt pneumatic compression stockings at 33%, low molecular weight heparins at
13%, and other methods at 4%. Over 83% indicated that safety with few comp
lications, ease of administration, and effectiveness were the most importan
t criteria for selecting their most preferred prophylactic method. Only 2%
routinely performed testing to rule out venous thromboembolism before disch
arge, and 11% routinely discharged patients with prophylaxis.
Conclusions: The prevailing opinion of members of the American Society for
Bariatric Surgery is that morbidly obese patients are at high risk for deve
loping perioperative venous thromboembolism. A vast majority routinely use
prophylaxis. Despite these measures, fatal PE is still widespread. A lack o
f consensus in the method of prophylaxis was seen. A multicentric randomize
d controlled study comparing the efficacy of the various methods of prophyl
axis will be the only manner to determine the best prophylaxis and its usef
ulness. This study will be costly and probably not warranted due to the low
incidence of this condition in the morbidly obese patient.