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Quality of life after gastroplasty is normal: a controlled study
A Isacsson1, S G Frederiksen, P Nilsson
1Department of Surgery, Lund University Hospital, Sweden.
Objective:
To assess the quality of life of patients 1 1/2-5 1/2 years after vertical banded gastroplasty for morbid obesity.
Design:
Retrospective study by questionnaire.
Setting:
University hospital, Sweden.
Subjects:
102 of the 127 patients (80%) operated on for morbid obesity between January 1989 and February 1993 responded to the questionnaire. 74 patients who underwent routine cholecystectomy were matched for age and time of surgery, of whom 55 (74%) responded to the questionnaire and acted as controls.
Intervention:
Standardised questionnaire of 112 items, 28 of which referred to problems with eating (Gothenburg Quality of Life Scale).
Main Outcome Measures:
Differences in scores between the groups.
Results:
Gastroplasty caused profound changes in patients' lives, cholecystectomy did not. This was reflected in self esteem, relations with partners, and social networking for both sexes. There was no difference between groups in overall quality of life, the mean (SEM) scores for women being 5.32 (0.09) compared with 5.33 (0.07) and for men 5.32 (0.17) compared with 5.40 (0.14).
Conclusion:
Vertical banded gastroplasty seems to offer morbidly obese patients not only reduction in weight but also improved quality of life.