title: Vertical banded gastroplasty at more than 5 years.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Optimal evaluation of the results of surgery for morbid obesity requires a long-term follow-up for at least 5 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred patients were operated by vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG) and revised with a follow-up of no less than 5 years. Sixty patients were morbidly obese with a body mass index (BMI) of between 40 and 50 kg/m2, and 40 were super-obese with a BMI of >50 kg/m2. Follow-up included 93 patients (93%).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Initial surgical mortality was nil. Twenty-five patients required surgery for complications related to the technique (25%) and one patient died due to pulmonary embolism after a re-stapling operation. The percentage excess weight loss was 54.3%, and the BMI was 33 kg/m2 for the 84 patients followed to 5 years post VBG. Only 40 out of 92 patients (43.5%), obtained the weight loss benefit due to the operation. None of them is able to eat a regular diet, and the quality of food intake has been severely affected in some of them.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  VBG is, in our experience, a safe and technically simple operation, but the long-term results are questionable. The reoperation rate was high, and weight loss and quality of life are superior with other operations.
authors.affiliation: The Surgical Service, Virgen de los Lirios Hospital, Alcoy, Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baltasar
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bou
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Arlandis
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Serra
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bengochea
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miró
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004032:Diet; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015391:Gastroplasty / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000601:surgery*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011788:Quality of Life; D012086:Reoperation; D015431:Weight Loss