Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy in Adolescents: Ten-Years Follow-up

Metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) has emerged as the most effective treatment for adolescents with severe obesity. Despite the steady increase in frequency of MBS in adolescents, most reports focus on short-term (1–2 years) follow-up.

To report on long-term weight loss and status of obesity-related comorbidities of adolescents who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG).

A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data of patients younger than 18 years who underwent LSG between January 2008 and July 2014 was performed.

During the study period, 46 patients (mean age 16.19 ± 1.07 years) underwent LSG, 31 of them (67.39%) completed long-term follow-up and were included in the study. Mean follow-up time was 10.84 ± 2.35 years. There were 18 females (58%). Mean body-mass index (BMI) was 44.94 ± 4.33 kg/m² and 30.11 ± 710, before, and 10-year following surgery, respectively, a reduction of 33.24% (P < 0.001). Long-term TWL% was 32.31 ± 12.02. Twenty-one patients (67.74%) achieved a BMI < 30 kg/m². Following weight reduction, resolution of hypertension was noted in 8 patients (88.9%, P < 0.001). Frequent long-term side effects of surgery were gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD) and alopecia in 22.58% and 48.39%, respectively. Symptomatic cholelithiasis necessitated cholecystectomy in 22.58% of the patients. Using a 1–10 scale, the overall patient satisfaction in the long term was 8.97.

Our data suggests that LSG is a durable intervention for weight reduction in adolescents.