Background

With the widespread popularity of semaglutide in the media, its application in the postoperative weight loss surgery patient is clear. However, published results are minimal. We aimed to review our personal experience with using the FDA-labeled semaglutide post-operatively in the setting of weight recurrence after bariatric surgery.

Methods

11 patients from 2023 were included and retrospectively reviewed including 7 gastric sleeve patients and 4 gastric bypass patients. Monthly dose escalation was followed to reach a maintenance dose of 2.4mg per week by month five. Minimum follow up time was 6 months with median follow up of 9 months.

Results

Average starting BMI was 36.75 with average excess weight of 73.47lbs. Average BMI change was 5.4 in the sleeve group and 7.6 in the bypass group. %Total weight loss was 15.9% in the sleeve group and 21.3% in the bypass group. %Excess weight loss was 66.6% in the sleeve group and 72.7% in the bypass group.

Conclusions

Despite the challenges of insurance coverage and supply availability, the patients that used semaglutide in addition to continued diet and exercise achieved outcomes similar to the manufacturer advertised outcome of 15% total weight loss. In our review, gastric bypass patients tended to be more successful when compared to gastric sleeve patients, however our sample size is small and a longer time period is necessary to evaluate full efficacy.