Weight loss outcome after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass: 10 years of follow-up

By submitting obese people to surgical treatment, we hope they lose weight and stay slim. Long-term monitoring is essential to assess effectiveness of surgery. This study aims to evaluate weight loss over 10 years in an obese population undergoing banded Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (B-RYGBP).

The surgery was performed in 211 obese between May 1999 and December 2000. This prospective study evaluated excess weight loss (%EWL) and body mass index (BMI) during the period. We considered surgical treatment failure if %EWL was less than 50 %.

We followed 54.9 % of the population (116 patients). Patients' %EWL was 67.6 ± 14.9 % 1 year after surgery, 72.6 ± 14.9 % after 2 years, 69.7 ± 15.1 % after 5 years, 66.8 ± 7.6 % after 8 years, and 67.1 ± 11.9 % after 10 years postoperatively. Surgical treatment failure occurred in 16 patients (14.6 %) over 10 years.

B-RYGBP is a good technique to promote and maintain weight loss 10 years after surgery with low failure rate.