Peculiar Skin Rash After Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy

Case series Patients: Male, 25-year-old • Male, 29-year-old • Female, 39-year-old • Male, 32-year-old Final Diagnosis: Folliculitis Symptoms: Rash Medication: — Clinical Procedure: Sleeve gastrectomy Specialty: Dermatology • Surgery OBJECTIVE: Unusual clinical course BACKGROUND: Obesity is one of the leading causes of preventable death worldwide. Due to its increasing incidence and the difficulty in reducing its morbidity and mortality using nonsurgical methods, the demand for bariatric surgery has risen in recent times. Sleeve gastrectomy is one of the most common types of bariatric surgery, and like any other surgery, it carries a series of risks. CASE REPORTS: Although complications such as gastrointestinal leaks are widely reported, there is limited literature available on cutaneous complications. Here, we report 4 cases of patients showing a peculiar skin rash 2–4 weeks following sleeve gastrectomy. We also discuss some of the mechanisms that may underlie this correlation. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for further epidemiological studies to determine the prevalence of this rash. Further studies are also needed to determine the exact etiology of this rash.