Banded One-Anastomosis Gastric Bypass (BOAGB) for Patients Living with Obesity and Extreme Obesity: A Single Institution's Experience.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of patients suffering from extreme obesity (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 50) has significantly increased over the past three decades, surpassing the rise in the general population of overweight patients. Weight loss outcomes after bariatric surgery in patients suffering from extreme obesity are less favorable, with a higher incidence of weight regain. Variations of existing bariatric procedures have been proposed to address this issue. One such variation is adding a gastric band to limit the expansion of the newly created pouch. Limited data exist regarding the effectiveness of this procedure, called the banded one-anastomosis gastric bypass (BOAGB) procedure, compared to other bariatric procedures. METHOD: In this retrospective study, we compared all patients who underwent the BOAGB procedure at the Bariatric Surgery Unit in our Medical Center with a postoperative follow-up of at least 1 year with patients who underwent a one-anastomosis gastric bypass (OAGB) or sleeve gastrectomy (SG) procedures. Data collected included demographics, comorbidities, surgical outcomes, complications, and postoperative quality-of-life assessments. RESULTS: One hundred eleven patients were enlisted to our study during the relevant study period-24 patients underwent the BOAGB procedure, 43 underwent OAGB, and 44 underwent a SG. Lost to follow-up beyond 30 days was 9% (at 1-year post-surgery, we were able to establish contact with 101 patients). The pre-op BMI was significantly higher in the BOAGB group compared to the other procedures. Additionally, a higher prevalence of diabetes was observed in the BOAGB group. The duration of surgery was significantly longer for the BOAGB procedure. No significant differences were found in surgical complications. Overall, all procedures resulted in significant excess weight loss (EWL) or change in BMI, improvement in comorbidities, and improved quality of life postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: The BOAGB procedure, like OAGB and SG, demonstrated favorable weight loss outcomes and weight maintenance 1 year postoperatively without significant differences between the procedures. The BOAGB procedure is relatively new, with good bariatric outcomes and a favorable safety profile. Long-term study is needed to evaluate these various bariatric procedures' efficacy further.

New results on the safety of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy bariatric procedure for type 2 diabetes patients.

BACKGROUND: It has been established that bariatric surgery, including laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), has a positive impact on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, less frequently T2DM is reported as a risk factor for complications with this type of surgery. AIM: To evaluate the safety of LSG in T2DM. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted over patients admitted for LSG from January 2008 to May 2015. Data was collected through digitized records. Any deviation from normal postoperative care within the first 60 d was defined as an early complication, and further categorized into mild or severe. RESULTS: Nine hundred eighty-four patients underwent LSG, among these 143 (14.5%) were diagnosed with T2DM. There were 19 complications in the T2DM group (13.3%) compared to 59 cases in the non-T2DM (7.0%). Out of 19 complications in the T2DM group, 12 were mild (8.4%) and 7 were severe (4.9%). Compared to the non-T2DM group, patients had a higher risk for mild complications (Odds-ratio 2.316, CI: 1.163-4.611, P = 0.017), but not for severe ones (P = 0.615). An increase of 1% in hemoglobin A1c levels was associated with a 40.7% increased risk for severe complications (P = 0.013, CI: 1.074-1.843) but not for mild ones. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that LSG is relatively safe for patients with T2DM. Whether pre-operative control of hemoglobin A1c level will lower the complications rate has to be prospectively studied.

The Impact of Technical Surgical Aspects on Morbidity of 984 Patients after Sleeve Gastrectomy for Morbid Obesity.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate early complications after LSG in regard of staple line reinforcement (SLR), bougie size, previous bariatric surgery and surgeon experience. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of LSG patients at the Soroka University Medical Center (SUMC). Data was collected from digitalized database. RESULTS: Nine hundred eighty-four LSG cases were performed by three surgeons. Seventy-eight complications were observed (7.9%): 44 mild (4.5%) and 34 severe (3.4%). Over-sewing of staple line was performed in 689 cases (76.2%), and no SLR in 217 cases (24.0%) without significant impact on mild or severe early morbidity. Bougie size 36 Fr or smaller was used in 635 cases (73.0%) without significant differences in early complications compared to 235 cases (27.0%) with larger bougie. LSG, as revision bariatric surgery, was performed in 273 cases (27.7%). Concomitant removal of a gastric band was performed in 199 of these cases (72.9%). History of silastic ring vertical gastroplasty (SRVG) was recorded in 10 cases (1.0%). Previous bariatric surgery was a significant risk factor for early mild complications (OR = 1.14, p value = 0.02), but not for severe ones (OR = 0.79, p value = 0.09). Concomitant removal of gastric band did not affect this result. The risk for mild complication was significantly reduced with surgeon experience achieving 100 cases. CONCLUSIONS: SLR or bougie size is not affecting LSG morbidity, but previous bariatric history and surgeon experience are significant factors for early mild complications.

Elevated Cell-Free DNA Measured by a Simple Assay Is Associated With Increased Rate of Colorectal Cancer Relapse.

OBJECTIVES: For patients with early stage colorectal cancer (CRC), markers of high-risk relapse are needed. In a previous study on 38 randomly selected patients with CRC, we found good correlation between presurgery cell-free DNA (CFD) concentrations and standard prognostic factors. In the current study, we revisited the same patients at 5-year survival, aiming to evaluate the predictive power of presurgery CFD levels. METHODS: We revisited 38 patients with CRC previously analyzed for 5-year outcome. CFD was measured using a simple fluorescent assay that we developed. RESULTS: All recurrent patients and patients who had died of cancer within 5 years were shown to have presurgery CFD values above 800 ng/mL. The negative predictive value for cancer-related disease was 100%. Cox regression analysis for disease-free survival showed a hazard ratio of 6.03 (P = .003) for CFD, which was higher than the ratio of the disease stage, 1.9 (P = .006). The survival-free curve of stage I and II patients with elevated CFD was significantly different from patients with normal levels (P = .0136); 5 (41.7%) of 12 patients had died of cancer or had experienced a recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: CFD may possibly be a decisive criterion to identify patients with local disease who might benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy.