Study assesses side effects after gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy in adolescents

Study assesses side effects after gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy in adolescents

Teens who underwent sleeve gastrectomy, a type of weight-loss surgery that involves removing part of the stomach, were less likely to go to the emergency room or be hospitalized in the five years after their surgery than those who had their stomach pouch split through gastric bypass surgery, according to new research.

Rates of complications, death and subsequent surgery were similar in both groups, University of Michigan researchers found in an analysis published in JAMA.

All patients studied had Medicaid, the largest health insurance provider for people under 19 in the United States.

Previous research has shown that sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass surgery resulted in significant weight loss and low complication rates in adolescents with severe obesity. But the comparative results of these two methods, which could aid in health insurance policy and decision-making, had yet to be examined for Medicaid-insured youth.”

Ryan Howard, MD, general surgery resident, University of Michigan Health

Researchers identified just over 1,110 patients who underwent either weight-loss surgery between 2012 and 2018, a relatively small number compared to the more than 95,000 patients covered by Medicare who had either gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy at the same time.

Howard says the disparity could be due to access issues or concerns about bariatric surgery as a weight loss treatment for teenagers.

Source:

Michigan Medicine – University of Michigan

Reference:

Howard, R., et al. (2022) Health care utilization and adverse events following sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass in adolescents with severe obesity who are insured by Medicaid. JAMA. doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.14843.

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