Improved Gustatory Sensitivity in Morbidly Obese Patients After Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy.

Introduction: The reduction in the preferences for sweet and fat containing tastes in obese patients who underwent bariatric surgery was relatively well shown; however, there are only limited data on the changes in the sensitivity of other tastes like sour, salty, and bitter.

Methods: We investigated the changes in gustatory sensitivity of 52 morbidly obese patients (M/F, 22/30; age range, 19-60 years; BMI range, 32.5-63.0 kg/m(2)) after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. The surgery was performed by the same surgeon using 5 ports technique. Gustatory sensitivity was tested preoperatively and 1 and 3 months after the surgery using standardized Taste Strips test.

Results: There was a statistically significant improvement in the taste acuity to sweet, sour, salty, and bitter tastants in morbidly obese patients after the laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy during the follow-up period of 3 months. Median whole test scores of the patients were increased from 11.5 preoperatively to 14 in the first and third months.

Conclusion: In this study, we were able to show the significant improvement in gustatory sensitivity of morbidly obese patients after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy for the first time in literature.