Bariatric surgery halted progression of liver disease in patients with obesity and cirrhosis, study finds ‘We can change the trajectory of the disease’

https://www.statnews.com/2025/01/27/bariatric-surgery-cirrhosis-liver-disease/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8fRLFzt1Hi-kOuxb2zCBWnaF2bbtOT5iyL09p_xuebmtE4EsQ8r2ePN0SumKD0folVrbFuSFfVgOtgo-epk2y98XjXqA&_hsmi=344205424&utm_content=344205424&utm_source=hs_email Could bariatric surgery help treat liver disease? For people with obesity and cirrhosis, a late stage of liver disease, one new, small study says that bariatric surgery might be an option. The study, published today in Nature Medicine, followed 168 patients, about a third of whom underwent bariatric surgery. After 15 years, fewer people in the surgical group developed one of the major complications of liver disease, which include cancer and death, than in the non-surgical group. “We can change the trajectory of the disease,” Ali Aminian, a co-author on the study, told STAT’s Liz Cooney. Read more on the specifics.