The Use of Transient Elastography Technology in the Bariatric Patient: a Review of the Literature

• Published in: Obesity surgery Vol. 30; no. 12; pp. 5108 - 5116
• Main Authors: Puthenpura, Max M., Patel, Vishal, Fam, John, Katz, Leon, Tichansky, David S., Myers, Stephan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-12-2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biopsy; Elasticity Imaging Techniques; Gastrointestinal surgery; Humans; Liver; Liver - pathology; Liver Cirrhosis - pathology; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - diagnostic imaging; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - pathology; Obesity, Morbid - surgery; Reproducibility of Results; Review; Surgery; Technology; Obesity; Transient elastography; Liver; Fibrosis; Bariatric surgery; Steatosis
• ISSN: 0960-8923; 1708-0428
• DOI: 10.1007/s11695-020-05002-4

Transient elastography (TE) is a non-invasive technology that demonstrates promise in assessing liver steatosis and fibrosis without the risks of traditional percutaneous liver biopsy. Many studies have examined its reliability in respect to liver biopsy, but fewer have examined using TE in obese and bariatric surgery patients. With evidence showing that bariatric surgery can lead to improvement of liver steatosis and fibrosis, TE has the potential to provide a simple avenue of hepatic assessment in patients before and after procedures. This review article investigates what is known about the reliability of TE and its implementation in obese and bariatric surgery patients.