Bariatric surgery in adolescents: preliminary 1-year results with a novel technique (Santoro III)

Bariatric surgery (BS) was recognized as the only treatment for morbid obesity in adolescents. Classic surgical procedures are based on mechanical restriction and/or malabsorption, resulting in a large number of possible complications and demanding lifelong medical attention. A novel BS design, the Santoro III procedure, relies on modifying secretion of the satiogenic hormones GLP-1 and PYY. This approach avoids common BS complications such as prostheses, narrow anastomoses, excluded segments, and malabsorption. This study describes the 1-year follow-up of the first ten adolescents operated on using the Santoro III technique in a pediatric surgical service.

Ten adolescents, mean age 16.1 ± 1.7 years with body mass index (BMI) greater than 40 kg/m(2) (range 44 to 72 kg/m(2)), refractory to at least 2 years of medical weight loss treatment were selected by a multidisciplinary team to undergo BS. This operation consists of a sleeve gastrectomy with enteroomentectomy and partial gastro-ileal derivation.

After 1 year, mean body weight decreased from 140.3 to 88.6 kg, and BMI decreased from 52.8 ± 9.5 kg/m(2) to 33.4 ± 7.7 kg/m(2), with percent of excess BMI lost as 83.9 ± 17.1%. Glucose, insulin, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglyceride levels decreased significantly, while HDL-cholesterol, hemoglobin, and albumin levels remained unchanged. There were no mortalities or reoperations. The two complications that presented during the trial (intraperitoneal abscess and polyneuritis) resolved with medical treatment without sequelae. All the patients returned to their normal activities and their BMI began to stabilize approximately 2 years following surgery.

The Santoro III procedure is an attractive option for adolescent BS, with promising 1-year follow-up results. These initial studies should be monitored for long-term outcomes and confirmed on a larger group of patients.