Midterm Clinical Outcomes of Antrum Resection Margin at Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy for Morbid Obesity

Background: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is one of the most frequently performed procedures in obesity surgery. The benefits of minimally invasive surgery include rapid recovery. We evaluated the clinical outcomes of different resection margin lengths from the pylorus in LSG. Methods: This retrospective study included 152 patients who underwent LSG from January 2011 to October 2014. The antrum was resected 2 cm from the pylorus in 84 patients (group A) and 6 cm from the pylorus in 68 patients (group B). The patients’ demographics, staple line distance, complications, sex, age, body mass index loss, length of hospital stay, and comorbidities were retrospectively reviewed. Results: The patients comprised 104 women (68.4 %) and 48 men (32.6 %) with a mean age of 41.2 years (range, 28–53 years). The percent total and excess weight loss were statistically significant in both groups at 6 and 12 months postoperatively. Weight loss was significantly greater in group A than that in B at 6 and 12 months, but the difference at 24 months was not statistically significant. The results of pH monitoring showed significantly lower scores in group A than those in B at 6 and 12 months, but no difference at 24 months. Conclusion: LSG is an effective procedure with good short-term outcomes. Both procedures described herein are equally effective with respect to the patient’s return to daily activities. Increasing the distance from the resection line to the pylorus is associated with better weight loss but slightly increased symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease without a significant difference in complications.