Laparoscopic gastric bypass as a reoperative bariatric surgery for failed open restrictive procedures

An estimated 2% of men and 6% of women in the United States are morbidly obese. These patients have a mortality rate that is six to twelve times greater than their normal-weight peers. In these extreme cases of overweight, only surgical intervention can produce substantial and sustained weight loss. However, up to 20% of these patients will require reoperation for failure to achieve or maintain an adequate weight loss. Reoperative bariatric surgery can be challenging and has traditionally been performed as an open procedure. We present seven female patients who underwent a laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass after failing to achieve their weight-loss goals with prior open restrictive procedures. Their average BMI before surgical revision was 42.2 kg/m2. Mean operative time was 4 h 20 min, and length of hospital stay was 4.1 days. There were three complications in two patients and no deaths. Our initial experience suggests that laparoscopic gastric bypass is a safe and feasible reoperative bariatric procedure. Confirmation awaits a larger series of patients with follow-up data.