Seven year results of vertical banded gastroplasty for morbid obesity.

OBJECTIVE To present our experience with a group of obese patients treated by vertical banded gastroplasty. DESIGN Open prospective study. SETTING Teaching hospital, Sweden. SUBJECTS 198 Morbidly obese patients operated on between 1986 and April 1994. INTERVENTIONS Modified Mason vertical banded gastroplasty. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Weight loss, mortality, early and late morbidity, and reoperation. RESULTS The mean (SEM) age was 40 (0.7) and 149 of the 198 were women (75%). 22 Patients (11%) were lost to follow-up. Five patients died (3%), one soon after operation. Mean (SEM) body mass index (BMI) was 44.4 (0.5) preoperatively and this decreased to 32.6 (0.6) after four years (n = 99) and 33.8 (1.3) after seven years (n = 20). 21 patients developed 24 early postoperative complications, and 31 patients were reoperated on 41 times for late complications. CONCLUSION All patients lost weight after vertical banded gastroplasty, and their weight continued to decrease during a seven-year follow-up. This was somewhat offset by the high rate of reoperations required.