Obesity is associated with increased morbidity and mortality and is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Therefore, preventing and treating obesity has become a major public health goal. Bariatric surgery is considered the intervention most effective for patients with severe obesity (BMI ≥40 kg/m² or ≥35 kg/m²) with comorbidities and to maintain weight loss and glycemic control in the long-term.

Patients undergoing bariatric surgery have increased vulnerability to opioid-related adverse events, making multimodal and opioid-sparing strategies a clinical priority. Evidence for perioperative systemic lidocaine in bariatric surgery is controverse; pooled benefits in meta-analyses coexist with neutral findings in some contemporary randomized trials.