Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: imaging of normal anatomic features and postoperative gastrointestinal complications

Morbid obesity is a public health problem in the United States and Europe and its prevalence is on the increase. Despite certain progress the efficacy of medical treatment remains limited. Bariatric surgery has consequently become an effective alternative for patients with morbid obesity. The bariatric operations most frequently performed are laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LGB), but laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is increasingly popular with both bariatric surgeons and patients due to its simplicity, rapidity and decreased morbidity. The purpose of this pictorial essay is to familiarize radiologists with the normal postoperative anatomic features and the imaging findings of postoperative gastrointestinal complications of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy because little literature exists on this subject.