Reappraisal of partial ileal bypass for the treatment of familial hypercholesterolemia.

Eleven patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (type IIa) were treated by partial ileal bypass. Postoperatively, mean total cholesterol levels fell by 26% at 1 month, and then rose steadily to 20% below preoperative levels of 20-24 months. The rise in cholesterol levels was due in part to an increase in high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol with a resultant improvement in the HDL:LDL ratio (LDL, low density lipoprotein). Five patients had refractory hypercholesterolemia and were treated with lovastatin. One of them was treated with a combination of lovastatin and LDL-apheresis. All patients experienced diarrhea which improved with time, but two patients required reversal of their bypass for intractable gas bloat syndrome. Each received lovastatin to control recrudescence of hypercholesterolamia following reversal. Ten patients are alive and well, but one patient died after a myocardial infarction 55 months postoperatively. The advent of lovastatin and other HMG COA reductase inhibitors is likely to decrease the use of partial ileal bypass to treat familial hypercholesterolemia.