Guzmán HM, et al. - Obese Chilean patients were examined 12 months after bariatric surgery (BS) for cholelithiasis (CL) incidence and for risk factors associated with the development of gallstones. Researchers identified 279 patients who underwent bariatric surgery during the study period; 66 of these had previous gallbladder disease; the inclusion criteria were met by 176 (82.6%). Up to one-third of the patients followed up for 12 months after BS exhibited CL. No increased risk was evident in correlation to excessive weight loss and other variables studied. Findings suggest a protective effect of hypertension against gallstone formation, however, this result needs further analysis.