UC Irvine

Objective

The primary endpoints of this study were long-term weight loss, morbidity, and changes in comorbidities and quality of life.

Background

Bariatric surgery is an effective option for the treatment of severe obesity and its related comorbidities. However, few studies have reported on the long-term outcome (>5 yrs) of bariatric surgery.

Methods

Between 2002 and 2007, 250 patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 to 60 kg/m were randomly assigned to undergo laparoscopic gastric bypass or laparoscopic gastric banding. After exclusions, 111 patients underwent gastric bypass and 86 patients underwent gastric banding. Factors predictive of improved weight loss were analyzed using multiple logistic regressions.

Results

At baseline, the mean age was 43 ± 10 years and the mean BMI was 46.5 ± 5.6 kg/m. At 10-year follow-up, the mean total body weight loss for the entire cohort was -37.5 ± 19.4 kg, -42.4 ± 19.6 kg for gastric bypass versus -27.4 ± 14.5 kg for gastric banding. Late reoperation was significantly higher after gastric banding compared with the gastric bypass group (31.4% vs. 8.1%, respectively, P < 0.01). For the entire cohort, improvement or remission of diabetes occurred in 68%; 61% for hypertension; and 57% for dyslipidemia. The long-term mortality for the entire cohort was 1.0% at a mean follow-up of 9.5 ± 0.4 years. Factors predictive of improved weight loss included the type of operation (ie, gastric bypass), female sex, and the absence of diabetes at baseline. At long-term follow-up, quality of life continues to be improved from baseline for both the groups.

Conclusions

Bariatric surgery is an effective treatment for severe obesity with durable 10-year weight loss and improvement in comorbidities and quality of life. Compared with gastric banding, gastric bypass was associated with better long-term weight loss, lower rate of late reoperation, and improved remission of comorbidities.