Clinical Case Discussion Forum
To share and enhance best practice management of CML, experts and interested clinicians can discuss difficult or interesting CML cases here. Physicians submit a brief history of the patient and the case for discussion using this forum.
CML and bariatric surgery
Topic
CML and bariatric surgery
was created by
Shokhan Mohammed
Shokhan Mohammed
Iraq
05:08 15 August 2026
Good evening. I have a 40 years old female diagnosed with CML in 2023. She’s on first line imatinib, after two years dose was reduced to 200 mg due to severe arthralgia. She has achieved MMR. She’s morbidly obese and she wants to do bariatric surgery. What’s your opinion about it?
If the patient has sustained MMR on a reduced dose, that is a satisfactory response and should not materially change the risks of bariatric surgery (assuming normal blood counts). If it is considered beneficial for her overall health, then there is no contra-indication from a CML perspective. The low-dose imatinib should be continued as much as possible through the perioperative period – given the reduced dose she should not miss more doses than necessary.