[Laparoscopic stomach bypass surgery]

Metabolic surgery: gastric bypass for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the largest health emergencies of the 21st century given the worldwide increase of obesity during the last decades and its close association. T2DM is an inherited, polygenic and chronic disease caused by the interaction between several genetic variants in genes and the environment. The continuous search for new and more effective tools to achieve appropriate glycemic control became imperative in order to reduce long-term complications and mortality rates related to T2DM. Treatment options includes lifestyle modifications and several pharmacotherapies as first step in the therapeutical algorithm, but high corps of evidence have shown that gastrointestinal (GI) operations, especially those that involve food rerouting through the GI tract, are safe interventions and achieve superior outcomes for improvement in glucose metabolism when comparing with optimal medical and lifestyle changes. GI Surgery, specially Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), is currently the most accepted surgical procedure to treat T2DM, and has also demonstrated to reduce significantly other cardiovascular risk factors (lipids and blood pressure control) when compared with optimal medical treatment, with good long-term effects on cardiovascular risks and mortality. Although the most effective technique in achieving diabetes remission is biliopancreatic diversion, the effectiveness-adverse effects balance is superior for RYGB. For these reasons, metabolic surgery (which was defined as "the operative manipulation of a normal organ or organ system to achieve a biological result for a potential health gain") has been considered and accepted as a new step in the therapeutic algorithm for T2DM when optimal lifestyle and medical interventions don't achieve optimal glycemic goals.

SIMPLIFIED LAPAROSCOPIC GASTRIC BYPASS WITH GASTROJEJUNAL LINEAR MECHANICAL ANASTOMOSIS: TECHNICAL ASPECTS

Background

Gastric bypass is a restrictive and malabsorptive surgery. The restrictive part consists in the creation of a small gastric pouch. The gastrointestinal bypass serves as the malabsorptive element.

Aim

To describe a simplified gastric bypass approach for morbid obese patients, showing our results, and also remarking the importance of this technique for reducing the learning curve.

Method

The patient is positioned in a split legs position and carefully strapped to the operating room table, with the surgeon between the patient's legs. Five trocars are inserted after pneumoperitoneum at the umbilicus. Dissection of the esophagogastric angle and lesser curvature is mandatory before the gastric pouch manufacturing. This pouch is done with two blue load staplers. Using a blue load linear stapler inserted only half way into the hole in the pouch is used to perform the gastrojejunal anastomosis and in order to create an anastomosis that is about 2 cm in length. A side-to-side jejunojejunostomy is done with a white load linear stapler. The last step of the gastric bypass consists in the cut of the jejunum between the two anastomosis with a white load linear stapler. Blue test is performed in order to detect leaks.

Results

From January 2012 to December 2015, 415 simplified RYGB were performed. Gender: 67% female and 33 % males. Average of BMI 44.7. Mean age was 42 years old. Mean operative time 79 min. 39 % of this sample had T2 diabetes. Regarding complications were observed, one fistula, one gastrojejunal stenosis and one obstruction due to a bezoar.

Conclusion

The described technique is a simplified approach in which all the anastomosis are performed in the upper part of the abdomen, allowing the surgeons to be more systematized and avoiding them to make mistakes in the confection of the Roux-en-Y anastomosis. This simplified gastric bypass is a safe and reproducible technique.