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Vertical gastric banding for morbid obesity: a long-term follow-up study
Peter Waaddegaard1, Thorkild Clemmesen, Per Jess
1Department of Surgery A, Hillerød County Hospital, Denmark.
Objective:
To investigate the long-term results of vertical gastric banding for morbid obesity.
Design:
Follow-up study.
Setting:
County hospital, Denmark.
Patients:
56 patients aged 20-55 years, 45 of whom were women. The median preoperative body mass index (BMI) was 41.
Interventions:
Vertical gastric banding.
Main Outcome Measures:
Morbidity, weight and BMI before and 6, 12,24, and 36 months after the operation as well as in late 1999, a median of 15 years after the operation, together with a simple quality of life assessment.
Results:
Minor complications were seen in 13 patients (23%) and major complications in 2 (4%). One patient died (2%). The median reduction in BMI 15 years after the operation was 22% (p < 0.0001). Thirteen patients (23%) had the gastric band removed because of penetration or stenosis. There was no significant difference in weight loss between these patients and the others. 41 (79%) of the 52 surviving patients attended the final follow-up. Late symptoms, dysphagia and heartburn, were seen in 16 (39%) and 24 (59%) of these 41 patients, respectively. Twenty-seven of the 41 patients (66%) stated that their quality of life had improved. The improvement in quality of life was significantly related to loss of weight (p < 0.01).
Conclusion:
Vertical gastric banding is an effective operation for morbid obesity with a low morbidity and mortality.