A 5-Year Prospective Quality of Life Analysis Following Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding for Morbid Obesity

In addition to actual weight loss and the possible resolution of obesity-related co-morbidities following bariatric surgery, another widely recognized important outcome measure is the improvement of quality of life (QOL). Disease-specific quality of life (DSQOL) and general health-related quality of life (HRQOL) were measured preoperatively and at 1 and 5 years postoperatively following laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) for morbid obesity. The Moorehead-Ardelt questionnaire was used for DSQOL assessments and a generic 15-dimensional questionnaire (15D) was used for HRQOL measurements. In addition, HRQOL was compared with that of the age- and gender-standardized general population. DSQOL scores were significantly improved on all domains after 1 year from the operation and this improvement was maintained at 5 years. This improvement was also seen in the total HRQOL scores. Despite this improvement, the HRQOL after LAGB remained worse compared to the age- and gender-standardized general population. DSQOL and HRQOL improve both significantly after LAGB. This QOL improvement is maintained at 5-year follow-up although QOL does not reach the level of the general population.