Experience in laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy for morbidly obese Taiwanese: staple-line reinforcement is important for preventing leakage

Background Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is a promising procedure for the surgical treatment of morbid obesity. We report our 2-year experience with LSG and specifically evaluate the importance of staple-line protection to prevent leakage after the laparoscopic procedure. Methods One hundred eighteen consecutive patients with BMI > 30 who underwent LSG from January 2006 to February 2009 were included in our study. There were 88 women and 30 men with a mean age of 33.2 +/- 9.6 years and a mean BMI of 38.0 +/- 6.4 kg/m(2). The first 40 patients (group 1) underwent the operation without any reinforcement procedure and the other 78 patients received reinforcement of the staple-line (group 2). Data including demographics, hospital stay, blood loss, operative time, complications, excess weight loss percentage (EWL%), and gastrointestinal quality of life index (GIQLI) were collected prospectively for evaluation. Results The overall mean operative time was 118.5 +/- 37.0 min, mean blood loss was 56.8 +/- 56.7 ml, mean hospital stay was 5 +/- 3 days. The mean EWL% at 12 and 24 months was 81.5 and 76.0%, respectively. The overall leakage rate was 3.39% (4/118). All leakage occurred in group 1 patients, with a leakage rate of 10% (4/40). Mean preoperative GIQLI was 98.7, and the postoperative GIQLI were 116.4, 115, 112.4, and 97.6 at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months, respectively. Conclusions LSG is an effective obesity treatment to achieve significant weight loss after 24 months. Staple-line reinforcement is strongly recommended for laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy to decrease complications.