Gastric emptying after a new, more physiological anti-obesity operation: the Magenstrasse and Mill procedure

The Magenstrasse and Mill (M&;M) procedure for obesity is designed to preserve normal gastric emptying mechanisms. The hypothesis investigated in this study was that gastric emptying would be normal after the M&;M gastroplasty. Gastric emptying studies were performed using both liquid and solid test meals, in ten morbidly obese patients (MO group) and in 13 patients after the M&;M procedure (MM group). Seven people of normal weight served as controls and were matched for age, sex and height to the M&;M and MO groups. Three years after the M&;M procedure, mean (SD) weight loss was 42 (19) kg, with a mean loss of excess weight of 58% (20%). Gastric emptying half-times (t_1/2) are expressed in minutes, as median values (25th and 75th percentiles). The t_1/2 for solids was 97 (85-110) min in the control group, 140 (86-220) min in the MO group and 79 (46-150) min in the MM group. Median gastric emptying for solids was 0.7% (0.6%-0.8%) per minute in the control group, 0.5% (0.3%-0.8%) in the MO group and 0.9% (0.4%-1.4%) in the M&;M group. There were no statistically significant differences in the emptying times of the three groups. It is concluded that the M&;M procedure achieves acceptable weight loss, while preserving gastric emptying mechanisms and thus minimising possible side-effects such as vomiting, dumping and diarrhoea, which are common complications of gastric bypass procedures.