Upper gastrointestinal endoscopic and histologic findings before and after vertical banded gastroplasty

Background: A total of 30 consecutive morbidly obese patients, six males and 24 females, who underwent vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG) between January 1992 and December 1994 and were followed up by endoscopy and biopsy were included in this study with the aim to determine the short- and mid-term complications and to investigate alterations in esophageal, gastric, and duodenal mucosa after surgery. Methods: All patients underwent endoscopy before operation. Postoperatively, 28 patients were reendoscoped at 6 months, 26 at 12 months, and 22 at 18 months. Biopsies were taken from the lower part of esophagus, just below the esophagogastric junction (vertical part of the partitioned stomach), corpus, antrum, and duodenal bulb. Results: Before operation 5 patients (16.6%) had a hiatus hernia and four of them (13.3%) had esophagitis. Endoscopic gastritis was diagnosed in nine patients (30%) and endoscopic duodenitis in two (6.6%). Histologically, in 15 patients (50%) esophagitis was recognized; in 24 patients (80%) corpus gastritis; in 27 patients (90%) antral gastritis; and in 23 (76.6%) duodenitis. Helicobacter pylori was found in 20 (66.6%) patients. Postoperatively, three patients developed a mild stoma stenosis and were treated only by passing the endoscope 6 months after operation; one patient, with a severe stoma stenosis, was treated by Eder-Puestow dilatations and surgery. Gastric ulcer was found in two patients 6 and 12 months after surgery. One patient developed an endostomach channel because of staple line dehiscence 18 months after VBG. An increasing incidence of esophagitis and gastritis of the vertical part of the stomach was found at 6 and 12 months. Endoscopic and histologic gastritis of the corpus and antrum, as well as endoscopic and histologic duodenitis decreased gradually after surgery. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that postoperative complications of VBG can be diagnosed by endoscopy, and some of them can easily be managed, Vertical banded gastroplasty causes not only no harm to the esophageal, gastric, and duodenal mucosa but also influences them favorably.