Does Bariatric Surgery Affect Intraocular Pressure?
Bariatric surgery is associated with a significant decrease in intraocular pressure after one year.
Does Bariatric Surgery Affect Intraocular Pressure?
The effect of body mass index (BMI) reduction following bariatric surgery on intraocular pressure (IOP) is not well established.
A retrospective study with over 1-year follow-up on patients who underwent weight reduction bariatric surgery between January 2016 and December 2016 at Wolfson Medical Center, Israel.
Of 22 bariatric surgery patients, 15 underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy) and 7 laparoscopic mini gastric bypass (mini gastric bypass).
All were followed up for over 1 year after surgery.
Average BMI decreased from 41.9 ± 7.3 to 25.5 ± 5.7 kg/m 2 at 1-year follow-up (p < 0.001).
Central corneal thickness and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness were also significantly decreased (p = 0.038) and (p = 0.018), respectively.
BMI reduction achieved by bariatric surgery was associated with significant and continued decline in IOP beyond 1 year after surgery.
Clinical implications highlight the importance of considering bariatric surgery in patients with ocular hypertension.