Gallstone Formation Prophylaxis after Bariatric Surgery: Experience in Saudi Arabia

The incidence of gallstones formation association with the obesity epidemic and rapid weight loss is dramatically increasing in recent years. Therefore, the aim of the review of literature was to discuss the gallstone formation prophylaxis and weight loss procedure with especial focus to the available related literature from Saudi Arabia.

A review of the literature was made using the most common electronic sources including: electronic database, EMBASE, MEDLINE search using keywords: gallstones, bariatric surgery, weight loss, and Saudi Arabia. The major outcomes gained were related with the different procedure associated with bariatric surgeries to find out possible predictive factors for the development of gallstone and prevention measures.

Although there a gap in literature from Saudi Arabia, the real movement towards a more conservative attitude in the gallstone formation prophylaxis after bariatric surgery needs more physicians to be involved to face the increasing biliary complications.