2 YEARS OF PRACTICE IN ADJUSTABLE SILICONE GASTRIC BANDING (LAP-BAND(TM)) - EVALUATION OF VARIATIONS OF BODY-MASS INDEX, PERCENTAGE IDEAL BODY-WEIGHT AND PERCENTAGE EXCESS BODY-WEIGHT

Background: In the treatment of morbid obesity, surgery had been the o nly method of obtaining a good and enduring weight loss. Although the procedure of choice is still a matter of debate, among gastric restric tion procedures LAP-BAND(TM) has become our first choice. Methods: We report the results from 62 morbidly obese patients operated in the per iod October 1994 - December 1996. Their characteristics were: mean age 35.6 years, mean body weight 130.6 kg, mean height 162.3 cm, mean bod y mass index (BMI) 49.9 kg/m(2), mean percentage ideal body weight (%I BW) 215.7 and mean excess weight (EW) 69.57 kg. Results: Twenty-four m onths after surgery we found a mean BMI of 39.3, a mean %IBW of 168.6 and a mean % EW loss of 88.5. We removed the band in two patients: one after 9 months because of stoma stenosis and pouch enlargement in a w oman who had been lost at follow-up, and the other for gastric slippag e occurring after 18 months due to incorrect fixation of the band. Con clusion: Our results led us to consider LAP-BAND(TM) as the surgical a pproach for severe obesity among those patients selected for gastric r estriction; indeed, it was very safe as well as effective and was rare ly followed by complications. (C) 1998 Rapid Science Ltd.