Can morbidly obese patients with reflux be offered laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy? A case report of 40 patients

BackgroundThe incidence of reflux in obesity can reach greater than 35%. Most surgeons recommend Roux-en-y gastric bypass to patients with pre-existing reflux. One alternative to Roux-en-y gastric bypass is the addition of anterior fundoplication (AF) with posterior crural approximation (pCA) to laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) in patients with documented reflux.MethodsBetween February 2011 and April 2013 we reviewed data from the bariatric registry on weight loss, resolution of symptoms, and quality of life presurgery and postsurgery for all patients who consented to participate in the registry and underwent LSG with AF/pCA.ResultsForty patients met inclusion criteria; 78% (31) were female. The mean initial weight was 298 ± 64 lbs. with mean BMI of 49 ± 8 kg/m2. The mean DeMeester score was 36 ± 27 (normal <14.7). Nine (22.5%) patients had esophagitis. Thirty-six (90%) patients had hiatal hernia. There were no intraoperative complications. The mean operative time was 84 ± 20 minutes and the mean hospital stay was 1.6 ± .9 days. Postoperative complications included 1 fluid collection, 1 narrowing, 4 admissions for nausea and dehydration, 1 for pancreatitis, and 1 for deep vein thrombosis . Thirty-eight (95%) patients had immediate resolution of reflux, whereas 2 (5%) patients complained of worsening symptoms. On short-term follow-up of 24 ± 6 months, 55% of patients responded to the gastroesophageal reflux disease-health related quality of life questionnaire with improvement in their median score from 31/75 interquartile range (IQR 25) preoperatively to 0/75 (IQR 6.5) postoperatively (P < .0001). Their %excess body mass index loss was 69 ± 27%.ConclusionsMorbidly obese patients with documented reflux can be offered LSG with the addition of AF/pCA.