Tae Kyung Ha

Introduction This prospective multicenter cohort study aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of bariatric and metabolic surgery (BMS) in Korean patients with class II obesity or higher and those with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 27.5 kg/m². Methods Between September 2020 and December 2022, 116 patients undergoing BMS were enrolled from nine centers in Korea. Of these, 37 patients underwent gastric bypass and 79 underwent sleeve gastrectomy. Follow-up evaluations were performed for up to 2 years. Clinical data were collected alongside four quality of life (QOL) surveys (EQ-5D, IWQOL-lite, OP-scale, and BAROS) administered at 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 weeks postoperatively. Clinical parameters included obesity severity, complications by surgery type, associated medical problems, nutritional status, and their longitudinal changes. Results The cohort had a mean age of 37.0 ± 11.1 years and a mean BMI of 41.9 ± 7.6 kg/m²; 71.6% of participants were female. Baseline associated medical problems included type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in 45 patients (38.8%), hypertension in 77 (66.4%), and hyperlipidemia in 77 (66.4%). Total weight loss reached 26.8% at 1 year, 27.5% at 1.5 years, and 24.7% at 2 years. Remission rates for T2DM, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia at 1 year were 80.7%, 50.0%, and 49.0%, respectively, increasing to 85.7%, 50.0%, and 71.4% at 2 years. No significant differences were observed between the procedures in postoperative weight trajectories, nutritional outcomes, or improvements of associated medical problem. All QOL scores showed significant and sustained improvement across all surveys. The overall complication rate was 12.1% (early: 0.9%, late: 11.2%), which was considered acceptable. Conclusion Gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy are effective and safe BMS procedures for Korean patients, providing substantial weight loss, remission of associated medical problems, and improved QOL.

Ha TK. Foregut Surg. 2026 ;6:e5. https://doi.org/10.51666/fs.2026.6.e5

Sang Hyun Kim, Tae Kyoung Ha. Journal of Minimally Invasive Surgery 2025;28:169-75. https://doi.org/10.7602/jmis.2025.28.4.169

Chung Y, et al. J Metab Bariatr Surg. 2025 Apr;14(1):1-23. https://doi.org/10.17476/jmbs.2025.14.1.1

Lee JH, et al. J Metab Bariatr Surg. 2023 Jun;12(1):11-15. https://doi.org/10.17476/jmbs.2023.12.1.11

Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a gut microbe-dependent metabolite, has been implicated as a novel risk factor for cardiovascular events related to obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis if TMAO is associated with the reduction of cardiovascular disease in the Korean obese patients who underwent bariatric surgery. From a subgroup of a multicenter, nonrandomized, controlled trial, titled KOBESS, 38 obese patients, 18 with and 20 without T2DM, who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) or sleeve gastrectomy (SG) were investigated. Bariatric surgery is indicated for Korean patients with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 35 kg/m² or for Korean patients with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m² who have comorbidities. Serum levels of TMAO and its precursors, betaine, carnitine, and choline were measured before and six months after bariatric surgery. The levels of TMAO and its precursors did not differ between obese patients with T2DM and non-T2DM at baseline. However, TMAO increased more than twofold in patients with T2DM after RYGB surgery, but not in patients without T2DM. Choline levels were decreased by half in all patients after RYGB. In patients with T2DM who underwent SG, TMAO, betaine, and carnitine levels did not change after the surgery. Furthermore, in obese patients who underwent bariatric surgery, increased TMAO levels were associated with both T2DM and RYGB, while reduced choline levels were associated with RYGB. These associations need to be further elucidated in follow-up studies to gain further insights into the relationship between TMAO levels and bariatric surgery outcomes.

Park DJ, et al. Ann Surg Treat Res. 2021 Oct;101(4):197-205. https://doi.org/10.4174/astr.2021.101.4.197