Published online Sep 24, 2015. doi: 10.5500/wjt.v5.i3.95
Peer-review started: April 5, 2015
First decision: June 3, 2015
Revised: July 6, 2015
Accepted: July 21, 2015
Article in press: August 7, 2015
Published online: September 24, 2015
Processing time: 173 Days and 12.5 Hours
The percentage of overweight and obese patients (OPs) waiting for a liver transplant continues to increase. Despite the significant advances occurred in bariatric medicine, obesity is still considered a relative contraindication to liver transplantation (LT). The main aim of this review is to appraise the literature on the outcomes of OPs undergoing LT, treatments that might reduce their weight before, during or after surgery, and discuss some of the controversies and limitations of the current knowledge with the intent of highlighting areas where future research is needed.
Core tip: The prevalence of obesity in the general population has doubled and the number of obese patients (OPs) affected by end-stage liver disease has increased with the same pace. There is conflicting data on the outcomes of OPs undergoing liver transplantation (LT) and the main aim of this review is to appraise the literature on the outcomes of OPs undergoing LT, treatments that might reduce their weight before, during or after surgery, and discuss some of the controversies and limitations of the current knowledge with the intent of highlighting areas where future research is needed.