Los Angeles (May 21, 2006) Upper gastrointestinal surgical procedures to treat conditions like gastroesophageal reflux disease and obesity are becoming popular options, but the medical community still debates the effectiveness and safety of the procedures. Research presented today at Digestive Disease Week 2006 (DDW) demonstrates that common surgical procedures like gastric bypass and laparoscopic reflux surgery are safe and effective for most patient populations and offer superior control of the conditions and their symptoms. DDW is the largest international gathering of physicians and researchers in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.

Bariatric Surgery at the Extremes of Age [Abstract M1549]

Approximately 17 percent of children and adolescents and 32 percent of adults in the United States are considered obese, with obesity among adolescents and older adults rising dramatically. While gastric surgeries are soaring in popularity, the safety and efficacy of the surgery for certain patient populations has been questioned. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, evaluated the long-term risks associated with gastric surgery in both adolescents (12-18) and elderly patients (60 and older) and found them to be considerably lower than previously reported.

In this study, researchers selected 167 patients to undergo Roux-en-Y gastric surgery: 12 adolescents (12-18) and 155 older adults (60-76). In Roux-en-Y gastric surgery, the stomach is separated into two parts with the smaller pouch receiving food intake. The food pouch is then connected to the small intestine to create a new gastric outlet. Patients in both age groups were afflicted with serious obesity-related health conditions, including Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, severe hypertension, sleep apnea, joint arthropathy and asthma.

The three-year follow-up of adolescents showed an average body mass index (BMI) decreas
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Contact: Aimee Frank
newsroom@gastro.org
301-941-2620
American Gastroenterological Association
21-May-2006

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