Restarting obesity medications, including glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, shortly after sleeve gastrectomy surgery is associated with greater weight loss over one year than surgery alone in adolescents, according to a research letter published online in JAMA Surgery on July 22.
Dr. Alaina P. Vidmar from Children's Hospital Los Angeles and colleagues studied 99 youths ages 7 to 20 who underwent sleeve gastrectomy between November 2023 and February 2026. Researchers examined the safety, weight trajectory and eating behavior outcomes associated with restarting obesity medications early after the surgery. Of the 99 patients, 53 reinitiated obesity medications with a median time to reinitiation of one month.
Both groups experienced similar weight loss in the first six months after surgery. However, at 12 months, those who restarted medications achieved a greater mean body mass index reduction of 29.3 percent compared with 25.5 percent in the surgery-only group. The early reinitiation group also had greater excess BMI loss of 53.6 percent versus 45.7 percent. Improvements in eating behaviors were significantly greater in the medication-restart group at 12 months, with median hunger scores of minus 3.5 compared with 0.2 in the surgery-only group.
There was no difference between the groups in postoperative complications, including biliary events requiring cholecystectomy, readmissions, emergency department visits and reoperations. Vidmar said in a statement that bariatric surgery is the most durable treatment for severe obesity but that youths with severe disease benefit from combining medication and surgery over time.
