Abstract
Objective: To compare the clinical results of adjustable gastric banding and vertical banded gastroplasty for morbid obesity. Design: Prospective randomised trial. Setting: University hospital, Sweden. Patients: 59 morbidly obese patients, listed for obesity surgery. Interventions: Adjustable gastric banding (n = 29) or vertical banded gastroplasty (n = 30). Main outcome measures: Weight loss, complications, need for revisional surgery, reflux symptoms and the patient's own evaluation. Results: Five years after surgery the mean (SEM) weight reduction for adjustable gastric banding was 43 (3.0) kg and for vertical banded gastroplasty 35 (4.8) kg. One patient in each group died of unrelated causes during follow-up and 3 and 2 patients, respectively, were lost to follow-up. One patient in the vertical banded group required reoperation for an anastomotic leak on the third postoperative day. A total of 3 patients in the adjustable group required reoperation and 11 in the vertical banded group. Conclusions: Adjustable gastric banding carries a smaller risk of reoperation than vertical banded gastroplasty and the weight reduction is in the same order of magnitude.