Comparative early outcomes of three laparoscopic bariatric procedures: sleeve gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, and biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch.

BACKGROUND

Since the introduction of the isolated sleeve gastrectomy in 1997, this procedure has gained immense popularity in the hopes of reducing the operative risks with a less complex operation. We reviewed our recent 2-year experience with bariatric surgery to compare the early outcomes of the 3 complex procedures routinely performed by our private practice at a single institution: sleeve gastrectomy (SG), Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), and biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (BPD-DS).

METHODS

The 30-day morbidity and 90-day mortality rates were retrospectively reviewed among a total of 507 primary bariatric procedures. The early postoperative outcomes of 360 RYGB, 88 SG, and 59 BPD-DS procedures performed during this period were compared.

RESULTS

The patients weighed more in the BPD-DS and SG groups. The SG patients were significantly older than the RYGB and BPD-DS patients. Co-morbidities were significantly more frequent in the SG and BPD-DS patients. One patient died after RYGB but none did so after BPD-DS or SG. The global complication rate was significantly increased after BPD-DS (P = .0017) compared with RYGB; however, no difference was found between RYGB and SG, although bleeding was likely to appear more frequent, not only after BPD-DS, but also after SG compared with RYGB.

CONCLUSION

Although no fatal outcomes occurred after SG, this procedure did not demonstrate a reduced risk of postoperative complications compared with RYGB with a significantly greater rate of bleeding. RYGB appears to be a relatively safe bariatric procedure, although the groups were not comparable in terms of the preoperative body mass index or co-morbidities, the exact role of which on postoperative morbidity remains controversial. Although the increased risk of RYGB to BPD-DS was confirmed, SG failed to live up to its "more benign" reputation.