Research
Hormonal
Preoperative administration of GLP-1 receptor agonists (OMMs) serves as an effective bridging therapy for super-obese patients, facilitating technical operability and reducing perioperative complications compared to non-pharmacological methods.
If you are waiting for bariatric surgery and have a very high BMI, ask your doctor about using GLP-1 medications (like liraglutide) beforehand. This can help you lose weight faster and reduce surgical risks, potentially making you eligible for surgery sooner than if you waited without medication.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
These findings collectively suggest (LoEIII) that preoperative OMM usage holds promise as a bridging therapy, facilitating faster and more effective weight loss compared to conventional non-pharmacological interventions. This is particularly relevant for optimizing patients before surgery, especially for those with either high BMI or severe obesity-related complications who are at increased surgical and medical risks.
Why this rating
Based on Level III evidence (retrospective/prospective observational studies), not RCTs.
Source
Role of obesity-management medications before and after metabolic bariatric surgery: a systematic review
Ricardo V. Cohen et al. · British journal of surgery · 2024
DOI 10.1093/bjs/znae284
systematic_reviewCited 30×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- GLP-1 receptor agonists should be discontinued prior to metabolic bariatric surgery to prevent delayed gastric emptying and aspiration pneumonia during anesthesia.Moderate
- Postoperative use of GLP-1 receptor agonists (specifically liraglutide and semaglutide) effectively treats suboptimal clinical response (SoCR) and recurrent weight gain (RWG) after metabolic bariatric surgery, achieving weight loss comparable to or exceeding non-surgical populations.Limited
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