The effect of laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass on fibromyalgia.

Department of Surgery, Michigan State University/Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies, 1000 Oakland Drive, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA. saber@kcms.msu.edu

BACKGROUND: Fibromyalgia is a chronic debilitating disorder affecting 3-5% of the US population. Treatment of this disorder is a challenge. The incidental finding of improvement of fibromyalgia following laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass stimulated us to study this phenomenon. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of patients with fibromyalgia who underwent laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. RESULTS: Postoperative decrease in median of BMI from 49.4 to 29.7 was significant (p value = 0.0010). This was associated with statistically significant improvement in median of pain score (p value = 0.0010) and median points of tenderness (p value = 0.0010). CONCLUSION: Significant weight loss following laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is associated with resolution or improvement of fibromyalgia. Consequently, the bariatric surgeon should be a member of the multidisciplinary team approach for treating fibromyalgia.

PMID: 18401670 [PubMed - in process]