Background: Surgical treatment of morbid obesity by perigastric adjustable banding give at mid term follow up, contrasted results which associate success, failure and intermediate situations.
Aims: The objective of this work was to prospectively validate predicting items that would predict success in the surgical treatment of morbid obesity by adjustable gastric banding.
Material and methods: Eighty patients with morbid obesity have been treated with adjustable gastric banding. Seventy-one women, and nine men with a mean age of 37.8 years (20-59) with a mean follow up of 17 months (12-52). They have been classified in three groups: success, failure, and intermediate results. Uni- and multivariate analysis was performed on six criteria: age, sex, professional activity, metabolic disorders, length of obesity and body mass index (BMI).
Results: Concerning age, sex, professional activity, metabolic disorders, and length of obesity, there was no difference between the three groups. However, a BMI more than 50 kg/m(2) has a strong predictive value. Patients called "super obese", BMI >50, has a high rate of failure (64%) even the weight loss is often important in absolute value, but the BMI at the follow up remain high and more than 40. In this situation: gastric banding does not seem a good treatment because it does not protect these patients against the lethal risk of their comorbidities.
Conclusion: In this study, there is not a specific candidate "profile" to a successful treatment of morbid obesity by adjustable gastric banding. Meanwhile the initial BMI appear to be a predictive factor of success or failure. In the case of patients with high BMI >50 (super obese) gastric banding did not seen to be a good treatment and another technical approach (gastric bypass) must be discussed.