Weight Loss After Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy in Children and Adolescents.

PURPOSE: For children and adolescents with severe obesity, metabolic and bariatric surgery including laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is increasingly used to facilitate weight loss and reduce associated medical problems. Outcomes of LSG are understudied among patients under age 15 years. We sought to examine surgical complications and weight loss outcomes among children and adolescents who underwent LSG. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a single-center retrospective cohort analysis at a high-volume metropolitan children's hospital in the northeast USA between 2011 and 2021. Weight loss was assessed at routine follow-up appointments for up to 36 months postoperatively. RESULTS: There were 12 patients under 13 years of age (< 13), 45 from 13 up to 15 years of age (13-14), and 57 patients aged 15 years or over (≥ 15). Among all patients, 70% were female, 41% were Hispanic, and 18% were non-Hispanic Black. There were no operative mortalities. Two patients had surgical complications requiring reoperation. Follow-up beyond 6 months occurred for 62% of patients. Weight loss was evident for each group at all time points, and there was no statistically significant difference among groups at any time point. BMI Z-score reduction at 6 months was 1.53 for the < 13 group, 0.89 for the 13-14 group, and 0.86 for the ≥ 15 group and at 36 months was 1.79, 1.50, and 1.16, respectively. CONCLUSION: These results support that LSG is a safe and effective method of achieving weight loss for young adolescents with severe obesity. Strategies to promote postoperative follow-up are needed.

The Prevalence of Co-morbidities in Adult and Adolescent Bariatric Surgery Candidates.

Severe obesity is often associated with co-morbid conditions such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and obstructive sleep apnea. Successful weight loss can result in remission of these conditions. The authors retrospectively examined the co-morbidity profiles of pre-operative gastric sleeve adult patients from the MBSAQIP database with subjects from our adolescent bariatric program. Five conditions were compared: hypertension (HTN), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), dyslipidemia (DL), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Patients were matched by gender and body mass index (BMI). The prevalence of each condition was statistically more significant in the adult cohort. Successful weight loss at an earlier age may reduce the prevalence of these co-morbid conditions.

Primary squamous cell carcinoma arising at a gastrostomy tube site.

Gastrostomy tubes are commonly used in children with feeding impairment. Postoperative complications such as the formation of granulation tissue are common and represent a type of chronic nonhealing wound. We present a case of a 24-year-old man with no history of malignancy who developed a primary cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma at a long-term gastrostomy tube site.