Background: Several studies have been investigated to find the long-term effect of bariatric surgery on weight loss; nevertheless, a meta-analysis can detailedly demonstrate the effect of bariatric surgery on weight in morbidly obese patients. This study aimed to assess the long- and very long-term effects of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB), laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB), and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) on weight loss in adults.
Methods: An electronic search using PubMed, Scopus, and Google scholar databases was performed for all English-language articles up to May 15, 2016 with no publication date restriction. Outcome was long-term (≥5-10 years) and very long-term (≥10 years) weight reduction that reported as the mean %EWL and changes in BMI from baseline.
Results: Eighty articles with 87 arms were included in this meta-analysis. The excess weight loss percentage (%EWL) was 47.94% and 47.43% after LAGB at ≥5 and ≥10 years, respectively. After LRYGB the %EWL was 62.58% at ≥5 years and 63.52% at ≥10 years. It was 53.25% at ≥5 years after LSG. Results of subgroup analyses have indicated that LRYGB leads to higher %EWL in America and Asia compared with Europe. Meta-regression analyses have shown that there is no significant association between %EWL and baseline age, BMI and length of follow-up after three procedures. However, there is a positive association between gender and %EWL after LRYGB (β = 1.24). No publication bias was found.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that LRYGB is an effective procedure in morbidly obese patients that leads to sustainable weight loss over the long- and very long-term periods in compared with LAGB and LSG.
Keywords: Bariatric surgery; Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass; Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding; Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy; Weight.