Research
Hormonal
GLP-1 receptor agonists should be discontinued prior to metabolic bariatric surgery to prevent delayed gastric emptying and aspiration pneumonia during anesthesia.
If you take GLP-1 medications (like Ozempic or Saxenda) and are having bariatric surgery, you MUST stop them before the procedure. Daily users should stop on the day of surgery; weekly users should stop one week prior. This prevents life-threatening aspiration pneumonia.
ModerateRefutesHIGH confidence
An important preoperative issue with GLP1RAs is their effects on delaying gastric emptying and the potential development of aspiration pneumonia during anaesthesia. It is advisable that this class of medication is be stopped before MBS
Why this rating
Based on expert consensus/guidelines (LoE III).
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
- 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.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
Related findings · Hormonal
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- Continued weekly administration of 2.4 mg subcutaneous semaglutide prevents weight regain and promotes further weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity, whereas switching to placebo results in significant weight regain.Strong
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