Initial experience and result of a Swedish adjustable gastric banding by laparoscopic approach in Thai cohorts.
BACKGROUND
Morbid obesity is a growing problem in Thailand. Several surgical procedures are available for weight reduction. The laparoscopic gastric banding has been shown to be an effective weight loss with a low post or perioperative complication.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this report was to evaluate the early preliminary outcome of the laparoscopic Swedish adjustable gastric banding operation in Thai cohort patients.


METHODS
From November 2003 until March 2005, ten patients with a median age of 31 (range, 18-61) underwent laparoscopic Swedish adjustable gastric banding for morbid obesity at Ramathibodi Hospital. Demography, clinical course and outcome including excess weight loss and peri-operative complications were reviewed and studied. Descriptive statistics were used for data summary.


RESULTS
There were 3 men and 7 women with a median preoperative body weight of 142.5 kg (range, 98-164 kg), and median body mass index (BMI) of 49.2 kg/m2 (range, 40.3-62.4 kg/m2). The operations were successful in 9 out of 10 patients with median operative time of 195 minutes (range, 125-275 minutes). One patient with a BMI of 62.4 had a failed operation due to poor operative exposure from a very large left lobe of the liver. None of the remaining patients required conversion to the opened technique. The mean hospital stay was 4 days with no perioperative mortality. There was no major post operative complication except one minor wound infection. The excess weight loss was within the range of 33.5% to 62.1% during the short-term follow-up (range, 1-15 months)


CONCLUSIONS
The presented early preliminary result of the laparoscopic Swedish adjustable gastric banding showed a good technical success with a significant short-term weight loss. The authors believe this minimally invasive operation is appropriate for morbidly obese Thai patient. However a longer follow-up study is needed.
Angkoolpakdeekul
Theerapol
T
Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. ratag@mahidol.ac.th
Samlitpradit
Preeda
P
Warodomwichit
Daruneewan
D
Roongpisuthipong
Chulaporn
C
Pongchailert
Paisal
P
Komindr
Surat
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015391:Gastroplasty / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000601:surgery*; D012828:Silicones; D013548:Sweden; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015431:Weight Loss
D012828:Silicones