Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy versus laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass for morbid obesity and related comorbidities: a meta-analysis of 21 studies.

Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) are two most common weight loss procedures; our meta-analysis aims to compare these two in the treatment of morbid obesity and its related comorbidities. An electronic literature research of published studies concerning LRYGB and LSG was performed from inception to October 2013. Percentage of excess weight loss (%EWL), resolution or improvement rate of comorbidities, and adverse events were all pooled and compared by the software Review Manager 5.1. As a result, a total of 21 studies involving 18,766 morbidly obese patients were eventually selected according to the inclusion criteria. No significant difference was found in %EWL during 0.5- to 1.5-year follow-up (P > 0.05), but after that, LRYGB achieved higher %EWL than LSG (P < 0.05). Except for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (P < 0.001), the difference between these two procedures in the resolution or improvement rate of other comorbidities did not reach a statistical significance (P > 0.05). There were more adverse events in LRYGB compared with LSG (P < 0.01). In conclusion, LRYGB is superior to LSG in efficacy but inferior to LSG in safety.