Laparoscopic gastric bypass after failed open horizontal stapled gastroplasty.

The number of people in the population who have undergone an operative procedure for morbid obesity is likely to rise steadily as the awareness and popularity of bariatric surgery continues to develop. As this number increases, the number of patients with long-term failures and complications from these procedures will also rise. Although previous operations, particularly open procedures, normally deter surgeons from choosing a laparoscopic approach, the evolving technical skill of laparoscopic surgeons should allow for the reconsideration of these inhibitions. In this case, we present of laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass on a 48-year-old woman who had undergone horizontal gastric stapling 20 years prior to presentation.