BACKGROUND

Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy are the most common procedures performed in bariatric surgery and both have been demonstrated to have significant effectiveness in treating morbid obesity. However, comparative analysis of their effectiveness has not been well studied. This comparative analysis was conducted to determine whether Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy have the same mid- and long-term outcomes in weight loss, resolution of obesity comorbidities and adverse events (AEs) of treatment.

METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase and Web of Science databases from the establishment of the database to January 1, 2020 for both randomized control trials and non-randomised interventional studies that studied Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy with respect to weight loss outcomes, resolution of obesity comorbidities and AEs of treatment. Standardised mean differences, risk ratios and odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals were calculated to compare the outcomes of the groups. Two reviewers assessed the quality of the trials and extracted the data independently. All statistical analyses were performed using the standard statistical procedures in Review Manager 5.2.

RESULTS

We included 20 studies (N = 2917 participants) in this meta-analysis. Our results showed no significant difference in excess weight loss between Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, with pooled Standardised mean differences of -0.16 (95% confidence interval: -0.52 to 0.19; P = 0.36) based on randomized control trials and 0.07 (95% confidence interval: -0.10 to 0.24; P = 0.41) based on non-randomised interventional studies. Further, the pooled results showed no significant differences in midterm and long-term weight loss outcomes between the comparative groups. Similarly, no significant difference was found in type 2 diabetes mellitus resolution. The pooled results indicated that patients receiving laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy experienced fewer postoperative complication and reoperation rates, with pooled risk ratios of 1.66 (95% confidence interval: 1.33 to 2.07; P < 0.00001) and 1.73 (95% confidence interval: 1.14 to 2.62; P = 0.01), respectively. Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass was superior to laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy in managing dyslipidemia, hypertension and gastroesophageal reflux disease.

CONCLUSIONS

The present meta-analysis indicated that both Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy had the same effectiveness in resulting in excess weight loss and type 2 diabetes mellitus resolution. However, patients who received laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy experienced fewer postoperative complication and reoperation rates than those who received Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass was superior in the management of dyslipidemia, hypertension and gastroesophageal reflux disease.