The effect of surgery-to-conception interval on pregnancy outcomes after sleeve gastrectomy

Background: The optimal timing of pregnancy after bariatric surgery has not been established, with data limited regarding laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), currently the most common bariatric operation performed. Objectives: We explored associations of the surgery-to-conception interval with pregnancy outcomes after LSG. Setting: A university hospital. Methods: We assessed pregnancy outcomes in relation to the surgery-to-conception interval for all women who underwent LSG and delivered during 2006 to 2018. Results: Of 154 patients, 67 (43.5%) conceived within the first 18 months postoperatively (early-pregnancy group), whereas 87 (56.5%) conceived later (late-pregnancy group). The median surgery-to-conception interval was 390 (interquartile range 247–459) days in the early-pregnancy group and 1104 (8527–1548) days in the late-pregnancy group. Compared with the early-pregnancy group, the late-pregnancy group had higher gestational weight gain (median 11 versus 8 kg, P <.001) and lower hemoglobin levels in early pregnancy (12.3 versus 12.6 g/dL, P =.03) and after delivery (10.0 versus 10.4 g/dL, P =.02). Other maternal and perinatal outcomes were similar between the groups, including the proportion of small-for-gestational-age infants (11.9% versus 14.9%, P =.64) for those who conceived within or later than 18 months after surgery. Similar rates of small-for-gestational-age infants were found between those who conceived within or ≥12 months after surgery (P = 1.0). Conclusions: Timing of pregnancy after LSG was found not to be associated with pregnancy outcomes. Together with documentations of a similar safety profile of pregnancy occurring earlier or later in the postoperative course, these data should reassure women who do not wish to delay conception after surgery.