Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy: An Innovative New Tool in the Battle Against the Obesity Epidemic in Canada

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Surgery 2010-04, Vol.53 (2), p.126-132
• Main Authors: Karmali, Shahzeer, MD, Schauer, Philip, MD, Birch, Daniel, MD, Sharma, Arya M., MD, Sherman, Vadim, MD
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Care and treatment; Complications and side effects; Epidemics; Gastrectomy; Gastrectomy - adverse effects; Gastrectomy - methods; Gastric Balloon; Gastrointestinal surgery; Health aspects; Humans; Laparoscopic surgery; Laparoscopy; Obesity; Obesity - surgery; Review; Risk factors; Studies; Surgery
• ISSN: 0008-428X; 1488-2310

Obesity can be considered to be one of the most important chronic diseases facing Canadians of all ages. Whereas patients with a very high body mass index may have the most to gain from procedures such as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or biliopancreatic diversion/duodenal switch, the increased risk of postoperative complications often makes them poor surgical candidates. As a result, several “bridging” procedures have been proposed to impart clinically effective weight loss and reduce the risk of complications and improve outcomes in the definitive weight-loss procedure. In this article, we provide a review of the evidence in support of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy as an innovative new surgical procedure used as a bridging procedure in patients with severe obesity and discuss new findings for its possible role as a definitive procedure for some individuals with less severe obesity. Finally, we comment on a possible approach to introduce this innovative new procedure to Canadian bariatric centres.