Report on bariatric surgery in the Ukraine

Morbid obesity (MO) is a problem internationally, including in the Ukraine. We present the surgical treatment of MO in the Ukraine over the last 15 years, during which intestinal bypasses and various gastric reduction procedures were performed.

198 patients with MO underwent: jejunoileal (JI) bypass 64, non-adjustable gastric banding (NGB) 34, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP) 1, horizontal gastroplasty 1, vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG) 2, and abdominal lipectomy 96. The 96 men and 102 women weighed 160-290 kg (mean 210+/-SD18 kg). Mean body mass index was >60 kg/m2. These patients had a high incidence of hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnea, menstrual disorders, impotency in men and infertility in women.

At 1 year, after JI bypass 61 patients lost a mean of 62+/-17 kg and after NGB 11 kg. After JI bypass, 1 patient died in the early postoperative period from acute respiratory insufficiency and 2 died in the first year from acute liver insufficiency. The JI bypass was reversed in 2 patients due to uncontrollable malabsorption syndrome; 1 year after reversal, the weight of these patients exceeded their preoperative weight. In the early postoperative period, 1 patient died after NGB and 1 after RYGBP, from acute respiratory insufficiency. Postoperative weight loss was associated with decrease in the co-morbidities of MO, but after JIB, there was a high incidence of bypass enteritis, excessive malabsorption, formation of renal stones and gallstones. After NGB, no complications have been identified. Isolated lipectomy was performed in 44 patients, lipectomy combined with a bariatric operation in 31, and lipectomy after loss of the excess body weight in 21.

Bariatric surgery was very effective in weight loss, accompanied by reduction or disappearance of the co-morbidities of MO, with considerable improvement in quality of life.