Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy for morbid obesity: 5-year results.

BACKGROUND: Data concerning the long-term efficacy of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy in the treatment of morbid obesity remain scarce. In this retrospective, the authors present 5-year follow-up of 30 patients having undergone laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.

METHODS: Since 2004, 30 patients underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and completed 5 years of follow-up. Five patients were subsequently subjected to laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and were excluded from further analysis. The remaining 25 patients comprised the study population.

RESULTS: Mean excess weight loss was 65.2 ± 6.1%, 64.7 ± 5.6%, 62 ± 4.9%, 58.2 ± 5.5%, and 56.4 ± 5.8% for the first 5 years, respectively. There were no deaths, nor any major morbidity. Remission of comorbidities was observed in 40% to 80.9% of cases.

CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is a safe and effective means of treatment of morbid obesity both in the short and in the long term. More research is needed to better predict which patient will benefit most from this operation.