Weight Loss Comparison of Gastric Bypass and Silastic® Ring Vertical Gastroplasty

Thirty-five patients who had undergone primary bariatric surgery between 14 January 1988 and 16 September 1990 were selected for retrospective analysis based on the availability of 3-month and 1-year (±3 months) follow-up visit records. Fourteen patients had undergone a Roux- en-Y gastric bypass (RGB), and 21 patients had undergone a Silastic® ring vertical gastroplasty (SRVG). Weight loss, pre- and postoperative body mass index (BMI), and the postoperative incidence of dumping syndrome, anemia, and food intolerance were compared. At 1 year (±3 months), the average weight loss was 40 kg for the entire group. The RGB patients lost an average of 41.7 kg, while the SRVG patients lost an average of 39.4 kg (not significant). The average preoperative BMI was 46.4 kg/m² for both the RGB and SRVG patients. The 1-year postoperative BMI was 30.6 kg/m² for the RGB patients and 32.4 kg/m² for the SRVG patients (not significant). One RGB patient developed a dumping syndrome, and one RGB patient showed evidence of a nutritional anemia. Neither complication was incapacitating. The SRVG patients had far more difficulty in advancing the consistency and variety of their diet in the early postoperative period, with only 62% (13/21) of the SRVG patients demonstrating an ability to tolerate a regular consistency diet at the end of 1 year. Seventy-six percent (16/21) of the SRVG patients reported occasional vomiting at 1 year, compared to only 7% (1/14) of the RGB patients. This retrospective analysis documented comparable weight loss for the RGB and SRVG operations. A greater incidence of eating problems up to 1 year postoperatively was observed in patients following SRVG in comparison to RGB.