Safety and efficacy of 1020 consecutive laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomies performed as a primary treatment modality for morbid obesity. A single-center experience from the metabolic and bariatric surgical accreditation quality and improvement program

LSG is widely accepted as a definitive treatment for obesity. Due to lack of large series with long-term follow-up, disagreement remains regarding its safety and efficacy. We present a series of 1020 consecutive LSGs performed with long-term follow-up.

A retrospective review of a prospectively collected database was conducted on patients who underwent LSG from January 2005 to February 2014. Data included weight, height, BMI, ideal body weight, comorbid conditions, intraoperative complications, mean length of hospital stay (LOS), early (<30 days) readmission, early and late (>30 days) postoperative complications, and percentage of excess weight loss (%EWL).

Of the 1020 patients, 66.6 % (n = 679) were female, with a mean age of 38.4 ± 16.5 years. Mean BMI at the time of first visit was 43.4 ± 5.8 kg/m². The most common comorbid conditions identified were diabetes mellitus (89.4 %), sleep apnea (86.4 %), hypertension (80.3 %), and hyperlipidemia (70 %). Over the entire follow-up period, 57 % of diabetic patients experienced significant improvement or remission. There was no mortality in this series. Early postoperative complications within 30 days of surgery included leak in 0.1 % (n = 1), stricture in 0.1 % (n = 1), emesis in 23 % (n = 234), dehydration in 19 % (n = 194), prolonged ileus in 18 % (183), and self-limited bleeding in 3 % (n = 30). Mean LOS was of 3.4 ± 2.1 days, with a 3.8 % overall rate of early readmissions. Long-term morbidity was found in 3.9 % of patients (n = 40) and included stricture in 0.49 % (n = 5) and GERD in 6 % (n = 61). The overall 30-day mortality rate was 0 %. Mean %EWL at 3 months to 1, 3, 5, and 8 years was 72 ± 16.8, 86 ± 22.3, 63 ± 19, 61 ± 11, and 52 ± 9.2, respectively.

This study confirms that LSG is safe and has very low rates of early and long-term complications when compared to other well-established procedures. Additionally, LSG that appears results in significant improvement of obesity-related comorbid conditions.