Gastrointestinal complications after vertical banded gastroplasty

Background: Gastric surgical procedures for morbid obesity may have occasional serious complications. The vertical banded gastroplasty according to Mason's technique (VBG) is a common procedure for morbid obesity. The aim of this study is to present the complications in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract after VBG and to discuss their treatment. Methods: In this study 260 morbidly obese patients (62 males and 198 females) underwent VBG. Results: Complications in the GI tract were encountered as follows: narrowing of the communicating lumen of the two parts of the stomach in four patients, dehiscence of the vertical stomach staple line in three patients, cholelithiasis in 12 patients, gastric perforation in four patients, postoperative fistulas in three patients, serious hepatic failure in one patient, significant gastritis and esophagitis in 32 patients, intestinal obstruction in five patients and frequent prolonged vomiting in 23 patients. The authors attempted to treat all these complications conservatively. In 22 patients, however, a new procedure was necessary. In some cases a partial gastrectomy was necessary. Conclusion: VBG is considered to be a satisfactory procedure for weight loss in morbid obesity, but has occasional complications from the GI tract, besides the complications from the other systems. Thus, this procedure should be performed only when absolute indications exist. (C) 1998 Lippincott-Raven Publishers.