Background: Long-term pulmonary reflux-related symptoms following laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) have not been reported.
Methods: We designed a retrospective analysis of consecutive patients who underwent LAGB or LSG between January 2000 and December 2010. All patients provided detailed history and physical examination. We assessed both early and late reflux-related symptoms. All patients underwent spirometry and chest X-ray (CXR).
Results: The analysis included 307 patients who underwent either LAGB (n = 193) or LSG (n = 114). Mean age was 43 ± 12 and 46 ± 11 years, respectively; 144 (76.6 %) and 83 (73 %) were female, respectively. Similar rates of previous pulmonary disease were noted in both LAGB and LSG groups (10.9 vs. 10.5 %, respectively). However, more patients with sleep apnea were in the LSG group (13.2 vs. 6.2 %, p = 0.03). The mean interval between surgery and the onset of pulmonary symptoms was longer in patients who underwent LAGB (72 ± 22 months) than for those who had LSG (36 ± 24 months; p = 0.03). The overall complication rate was higher in the LAGB (7.3 %) than in LSG (4.4 %) group. LSG patients had significantly lower rates of morning cough (12.3 vs. 59.6 %, p = 0.001) and postprandial cough (10.5 vs. 58 %, p = 0.001) compared to the LAGB patients. Two cases of pneumonia occurred in each group. The mortality rate was zero in both groups.
Conclusion: Both surgeries are considered safe and without major reflux-related symptoms. There is a lower incidence of cough with LSG than with LAGB.