Ursodiol reduces cholecystectomy rates after bariatric surgery

In a study involving 8,433 bariatric surgery patients, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) significantly lowered cholecystectomy incidents. Among the 5,061 patients not receiving UDCA, 2.9% underwent cholecystectomy, compared to just 0.5% of the 3,372 patients treated with 600 mg of UDCA daily for six months. Notably, the rates varied across different surgical types: biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (8% vs. 1.4%), Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (4.4% vs. 0.1%), and sleeve gastrectomy (1.7% vs. 0.4%).