Rhabdomyolysis after bariatric surgery

Background: Rhabdomyolysis is a potential threat after bariatric surgery. The severity ranges from asymptomatic elevations of serum muscle enzyme levels to life-threatening cases associated with muscle necrosis, compartment syndrome, acute renal failure and cardiac arrest. Methods: We studied 98 consecutive obese patients who underwent primary uncomplicated bariatric surgery during a 1-year period. A database was created for all patients (sex, age, BMI, duration of the operation); serum creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) was systematically measured before surgery and on the first and second postoperative day. Results: The study sample consisted of 35 males (35.7%) and 63 females (64.3%) with preoperative CPK level 156.6 +/- 41.1 U/L (40 to 220),24 hours postoperatively 1,075.2 +/- 596.5 U/L, (85 to 2,790 U/L) and 48 hours postoperatively 967.3 +/- 545.3 U/L (79 to 2,630). There was no difference in mean BMI (P = 0.1) and mean duration of operation (P = 0.5) between males and females. However, a statistically significant difference in mean elevation of CPK between males and females (P = 0.003) was found. The variables sex, age, weight and duration of surgery were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression, but did not show a statistically significant difference. Conclusion: Rhabdomyolysis is a potentially fatal complication of surgical procedures in obese patients, and can be minimized with simple measures such as additional padding, aggressive hydration and urine alkalinization. Diagnosis requires a high level of physician awareness.