Failed gastroplasty for morbid obesity: Revised gastroplasty versus Roux-Y gastric bypass

Forty-six percent of 122 gastroplasties for morbid obesity failed. This included a failure rate of 71 percent for a single staple line without stomal reinforcement, 37 percent for a double staple line and a central stoma reinforced with 2-0 polypropylene, and 42 percent for the Gomez gastroplasty. Revisional procedures were performed in 44 patients. Ten underwent revision of a failed gastroplasty using a gastrogastrostomy and 34 had conversion to a Roux-Y gastric bypass. Patients who had revisional gastroplasty as a second procedure had a significantly higher failure and complication rate than those converted to gastric bypass. Four of these 10 patients were subsequently converted to gastric bypass as their third weight reduction procedure. Conversion of a failed gastroplasty to a Roux-Y gastric bypass is a difficult procedure that carried a significantly higher complication rate in our study than that of a group of 46 patients who underwent a primary gastric bypass procedure. Of 26 patients followed for more than 1 year after conversion to Roux-Y gastric bypass, the average weight loss was 66 ± 18 percent of their excess body weight. This was comparable to 16 patients who had undergone a primary gastric bypass more than 1 year previously and had lost 69 ± 17 percent of their excess body weight.