Reoperation Due to Complications after Gastric Restriction Operation

BACKGROUND: In the past 4 years we performed operations on 90 patients who suffered from morbid obesity. Five different operative techniques were available, vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG), silastic ring vertical gastroplasty (SRVG), gastric banding operation, adjustable silicone gastric banding (ASGB) and biliopancreatic diversion (BPD). METHODS: Two of these operations were mainly utilized. The ASGB was done routinely. The SRVG was used particularly for patients with hiatal hernia. Only one patient, who had a deformed pylorus, underwent BPD. RESULTS: Eleven patients had to be reoperated due to complications after the first operation of gastric restriction; They were divided into three groups depending on the type of complication: reoperation due to lack of compliance, due to technical failure, or due to other complications. In the last group we observed three patients with band perforation into the stomach without epigastric pain. This complication has, to our knowledge, only been described in very few cases. CONCLUSION: In some patients it remained difficult to reach adequate compliance, although we kept close contact with them after the operation. We do not yet know the reasons for the band perforation observed in three patients.