Efficacy of Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy in Mildly Obese Patients with Body Mass Index of 30–35 kg/m²

Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) has recently gained rapidly increasing popularity as a stand-alone procedure for the treatment of morbid obesity. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of LSG in mildly obese patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 30–35 kg/m².

One hundred ninety-two patients who consecutively underwent LSG between April 2009 and December 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were classified into a lower BMI (30–35 kg/m²) and higher BMI group (>35 kg/m²). Demographics and surgical outcomes were compared between the groups.

Forty-nine patients (25.5 %) belonged to the lower BMI group, while the other 143 (74.5 %) to the higher BMI group. The preoperative BMI of each group was 32.7 ± 1.6 and 42.6 ± 6.6 kg/m², respectively. Severe complications requiring invasive intervention developed only in the higher BMI group (4/143, 2.8 %). The percent of excess weight loss (%EWL) in the lower BMI group was 86.1 % at mean follow-up of 24 months, which was significantly greater than in the higher BMI group (61.9 %, p < 0.001). Serial follow-up showed that %EWL was significantly greater in the lower BMI group until 2 years postoperatively, and the difference became statistically insignificant thereafter. The resolution of comorbidities was observed in more than 80 % of the patients both in lower and higher BMI groups.

LSG achieved excellent outcomes without severe complications for mildly obese patients. LSG could serve as a safe and effective stand-alone procedure to achieve sustained weight loss and comorbidity resolution in patients with a lower BMI.