Pericardial Patch Ring Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: A Preliminary Report

Background

Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is an effective treatment for morbid obesity. Failure of weight loss has been reported in 10 to 30 % of RYGB patients. Silastic ring RYGB was introduced to minimize failure rate, however, with higher complication rate. The aim of our study is to evaluate the safety of utilizing pericardial patch as a ring on RYGB patients.

Methods

Between March 2010 and June 2011, a total of 189 patients underwent pericardial patch ring RYGB at the Bariatric and Laparoscopy Center. A retrospective review of a prospectively collected database was performed for all pericardial patch ring RYGB patients, noting the outcomes and complications of the procedure.

Results

Pericardial patch ring RYGB patients demonstrated a mean percentage of excess weight loss of 57.4 % at a mean follow-up of 11 months. Out of 164 patients with follow-up, five (3.0 %) patients required endoscopic balloon dilation due to dysphagia, abdominal pain, and/or gastric outlet obstruction. All patients did well after the procedure. Three (1.8 %) patients underwent diagnostic laparoscopy for abdominal pain. Of these patients, one (0.6 %) had dilated and enlarged blind limb, and two (1.2 %) patients had partial small bowel obstruction. No patient was readmitted or reoperated due to pericardial patch ring.

Conclusions

Longer follow-up is needed to prove the true efficacy of this procedure in reducing weight gain. Pericardial patch ring RYGB seems to be a safe alternative for banded RYGB of other materials.