Laparoscopic mini-gastric bypass: short-term single-institute experience.

The elevated variety of procedures proposed for surgical treatment of obesity in the last few years suggests the necessity to find an ideal operation. Laparoscopic mini-gastric bypass (LMGB) was developed to obtain better results with lesser morbidity and mortality. LMGB was introduced by Rutledge, in 1997, and it consists of a long lesser-curvature tube with a terminolateral gastroenterostomy 180 cm distal to the Treitz ligament. From July 1995 to May 2011 we have performed 552 bariatric operations, among them we have operated 197 laparoscopic mini-gastric bypass (Fig. 1). There were 147 female (75%) and 50 male (25%) with the mean age of 37.9 years (range 20-55) and the mean BMI of 52.9 kg/m(2). All procedures were completed laparoscopically, without conversion and the mean operative time was 120 min (range from 90 to 170 min). The average postoperative stay was 5.0 days. We report one case of mortality for pulmonary septic complications. Major complications were two cases of pulmonary embolism (treated in ICU), six cases of melena on seventh postoperative day and three cases of anastomotic ulcers resolved with high doses of PPI. We registered a significant reduction of BMI and percentage of excess weight after surgery with a significant improvement in obesity-related comorbidities including blood pressure, hyperglycemia, blood lipid, uric acid, and liver function. An ideal weight loss operation should be effective, easy to perform and safe. Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass is actually the "gold-standard" technique but LMGB seems to be an attractive alternative: shorter operative time, with less morbidity and mortality, easier to teach and to perform. Another advantage could be the presence of a single anastomosis alone reducing the possibility of leaks.