Remodifying Omentopexy Technique Used with Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy: Does It Change any Outcomes?

BACKGROUND: Gastric obstructions, leaks and staple line bleeding are reported after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). There is no ideal method or technique to avoid these mishaps. We added modified omentopexy (OP) to LSG to determine if there is any effect on gastric leaks and some other complications.
METHODS: This single institution case control study included two groups of morbidly obese patients undergoing LSG. They were grouped as omentopexy (OP) or no omentopexy (NP). Patient characteristics such as age, sex, ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) risk, body mass index (BMI), nutritional status and comorbidities were comparable. Postoperative follow-up was scheduled at 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months. All received standard postoperative clinical, nutritional evaluation and PPI therapy for at least 3 months.
RESULTS: Total 737 patients underwent LSG from January 2012 to December 2017. Out of these, 370 that had OP and 367 that had NP were analyzed. NP group was subdivided into Lemberted Staple line (LS) and bioabsorbable staple line reinforcement (BSLR) groups. Gastric leaks and perforations were clubbed together as gastric disruptions (GD). Patients with at least 15 months of postoperative follow-up were included. Those who failed to follow up were excluded. GD was reported in 7 out of 367 NP patients (1.9%), while no GD was seen in 370 OP patients (P = 0.01). Bleeding was seen in 1 OP versus 2 NP patients (P = 0.6). Venous thromboembolism was reported in 2 OP versus 1 NP patients (P = 1). Wound infection was seen in 1 OP versus 2 NP patients (P = 0.6). Readmissions were noted in 2 OP versus 6 NP patients (P = 0.1). Pneumonia was seen in 2 OP and 2 NP patients (P = 1). Postoperative dehydration was seen in zero OP versus 1 NP patients (P = 0.4). Gastric obstruction was not seen in any of the patients. Postoperative gastric reflux was present in 49/370(13.2%) OP versus 57/367(15.4%) NP patients (P = 0.4). Within NP group, LS (Lemberting of Staple line) patients (286/367) had 4 GD (1.39%) versus no GD in OP (P = 0.03). BSLR (Bioabsorbable Staple line re-enforcement) patients (81/367) had 3 GD (3.7%) versus no GD in OP (P = 0.005). None of the groups had any mortality.
CONCLUSIONS: GD (gastric disruptions) were statistically significant, but the following bleeding, venous thromboembolism and gastroesophageal reflux did not reach statistical significance, which indicates that OP, if performed correctly with LSG, has favorable effects on gastric leaks.