Objective : To evaluate the efficacy of Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy
(LSG) as a definitive procedure for morbidly obese patients. Design :
This constitutes a prospective study carried out in a tertiary care
private hospital and included 15 morbidly obese patients who underwent
LSG. The operation was performed through two 12 mm and two 5 mm ports,
using the Endo-GIA stapler to create a lesser curve gastric tube over a
36-Fr bougie. Results : Operative time, complication rates, hospital
length of stay, Body Mass Index (BMI), % of Excess Weight Loss (EWL)
and appetite were evaluated. There were six females and nine males, aged
(mean +/- SD) 40.5 +/- 10.5 yrs and preoperative BMI 47.8 +/- 7.5
kg/m(2). The operative time was 147.7 +/- 43.2 min. There was one
conversion to open surgery and one gastric leak with haemorrhage that
led to gastric tube stenosis, ultimately requiring revision surgery. All
patients, except these two, were discharged on the 2nd postoperative day
after an upper GI series and the initiation of a clear liquid diet. At
the follow-up (7.5 +/- 4.4 months post operatively), the % EWL was 35.7
+/- 10.1. Eight patients who received regular postoperative dietician
counselling at follow-up did better than the others who did not (% EWL
40.4 +/- 3.8 vs 30.2 +/- 4.1, respectively). All patients reported
significant loss of appetite. Conclusions : Although the number of
patients is relatively small, the data of this study indicate that
laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is effective in weight reduction, being
an acceptable surgical option for morbidly obese patients. A higher
number of patients and longer follow-up period will be necessary to
evaluate long-term efficacy
