Management of ulcerative colitis in the morbidly obese patient: is bariatric surgery indicated?
Ulcerative colitis and obesity share a systemic chronic inflammatory response manifested by increased inflammatory markers. There are data suggesting a benefit in both diseases after inflammatory markers are decreased. We present a 39-year-old morbidly obese male with a history of ulcerative colitis who manifested significant symptomatic improvement after an 86.8% excess weight loss following gastric bypass surgery. We believe that this result may have been due to a reduction of inflammatory markers secondary to considerable weight loss. Although to our knowledge there are no publications showing a direct relationship between symptomatic improvement of ulcerative colitis and weight loss in the obese patient, we believe that weight loss surgery could become a promising tool in the treatment of ulcerative colitis when associated with morbid obesity.
Lascano
Charles A
CA
Bariatric Institute, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, FL 33331, USA.
Soto
Flavia
F
Carrodeguas
Lester
L
Szomstein
Samuel
S
Rosenthal
Raul J
RJ
Wexner
Steven D
SD
D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D015390:Gastric Bypass; D006801:Humans; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000502:physiology