Cirugía bariátrica de conversión por fallo de la técnica inicial: 25 años de experiencia en una Unidad especializada de Cirugía de la Obesidad en España

Abstract

ObjectivesTo evaluate the effectiveness of conversion surgery in a bariatric surgery unit with 25years of experience. MethodRetrospective observational study of patients with typeII obesity or higher who were reoperated by means of conversion surgery due to weight regain, residual body mass index (BMI)>35kg/m2 or <50% of excess weight loss. The demographic and anthropometric data, comorbidities and perioperative data were analyzed in 5 periods of time: initial, post-surgery1, pre-surgery2, post-surgery2 and current. ResultsA total of 112 patients were included, with a mean age of 40.2years, who initially underwent vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG) (32.1%), gastric banding (GB) (23.2%), Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) (21.4%) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG) (23.2%). The conversion techniques, with a median time between the two surgeries of 70months, included: RYGB, SG, one-anastomosis gastric bypass (OAGB), shortening of the common loop (SCL) and biliopancreatic diversion (BPD). There was a reduction of the initial weight from 144.2±30.3 to 101.5±21.8kg after surgery-1; from 115.6±24.0 to 91.5±19.0kg after surgery-2. The weight at present is 94.7±16.4kg, with a median follow-up of 27.5months. Similar results were seen with the BMI. The improvement of comorbidities mainly occurred after the first intervention. ConclusionsConversion surgery causes a weight reduction that does not exceed the loss achieved after the first surgery; however, it does manage to stabilize weight over time. The perioperative morbidity rate is acceptable and would justify its application, despite the limited impact on comorbidities.