GIST identified during bariatric surgery: to treat or not to treat?

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are rare GI tumors that compose 1% of GI tumors. With the rise in obesity, bariatric surgery is becoming an increasingly common procedure and the incidental GISTs in this population have been noted more often than in the general population. We evaluated and characterized the incidental GISTs in our bariatric surgical population. The study was completed at a Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program–accredited academic hospital system. All GISTs identified during Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2016 were evaluated. Typical demographic, clinicopathologic, treatment, follow-up, and outcome data were recorded. Within the 2655 bariatric surgeries at our institution, 17 GISTs were identified (.64%). Mean age was 54 years; 94% of lesions were identified intraoperatively. Lesions were identified in the fundus (29.4%) or body (70.6%), were unifocal, and