Effect of Significant Postoperative Complications on Decision Regret After Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy: a Case-Control Study

Background Thus far, no data are available on decision regret about sleeve gastrectomy (SG), particularly in patients who experienced perioperative complications. This study aimed to assess whether patients with postoperative complications regret their decision to undergo laparoscopic SG more than patients with an uneventful postoperative course. Methods The study group comprised patients with complications after laparoscopic SG (cases). The control group comprised patients who did not experience any postoperative complications (controls). A telephone survey was conducted on all patients. Patients' satisfaction regarding their decision to undergo surgery was assessed using the Decision Regret Scale. Results In total, 21 patients who experienced postoperative complications and 69 controls were included. The patients in the study and control groups achieved similar percentages of total weight loss (32.9 +/- 11.9 vs. 33.8 +/- 15.0, p = 0.717) and excessive body mass index loss (74.9 +/- 30.7 vs. 73.1 +/- 36.7, p = 0.398) at 1 year postoperatively. The difference in weight change at 12 months postoperatively was not significant in both groups. The mean regret scores in the study and control groups were 13.2 +/- 1.2 (range, 28-63) and 13.3 +/- 1.1 (range, 12-66) (p = 0.818), respectively. Moreover, no significant difference was found among patients who expressed regret between the study and control groups (regret score > 50; 4.76% vs. 4.35%) (p = 1.000). Conclusion This study suggests that patients with postoperative complications do not regret their decision to undergo SG more than patients with an uneventful postoperative course.