Primary Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass Can Be Performed Safely in Patients with BMI >or= 60

Background: Several studies suggest patients with a body mass index (BMI; calculated as kg/m(2)) >or= 60 have a greater operative risk and so advocate a staged approach to bariatric procedures. This requires two separate operations and all associated risks. At our institution, we do not perform staged bariatric operations for these patients; we execute a single-stage laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LGBP). Here, we analyze our experience in this population with a single-stage LGBP.

Study Design: Ninety-five patients with a BMI >or= 60 were compared with 1,311 patients with BMI < 60 undergoing LGBP from December 2001 to May 2007. Data recorded included age, BMI, estimated blood loss, operating time, length of stay, and complications within the first 30 days after operation. Analyses of the data were performed using unpaired Student's t-test, with p < 0.05 as significant.

Results: There were no statistically significant differences in age (42.6 versus 42.8 years), estimated blood loss (68.5 versus 69.5 mL), length of stay (3.1 versus 3.1 days), overall complications (12.7% versus 13.7%), or 30-day mortality (0.2% versus 0%) for patients with BMI < 60 as compared with patients with BMI >or= 60. The difference in operating time between the 2 groups was statistically significant (111 versus 118.7 minutes; p = 0.02) but likely reflected the learning curve.

Conclusions: In our experience, there were no differences in the incidence of complications or mortality for patients with a BMI >or= 60 undergoing LGBP as compared with those with a BMI < 60. These high-risk patients can safely undergo a single-stage LGBP.