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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Sep 28, 2015; 21(36): 10348-10357
Published online Sep 28, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i36.10348
Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and gastroesophageal reflux
Fabien Stenard, Antonio Iannelli
Fabien Stenard, Digestive and Oncology Unit, Mutualiste Hospital, F-38000 Grenoble, France
Antonio Iannelli, Digestive Unit, Archet 2 Hospital, University Hospital of Nice, F-06202 Nice, France
Antonio Iannelli, Inserm, U1065, Team 8 “Hepatic complications of obesity”, F-06204 Nice, France
Antonio Iannelli, University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis, F-06107 Nice, France
Author contributions: Stenard F and Iannelli A performed the research and helped write the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare for this paper.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Fabien Stenard, MD, PhD, Digestive and Oncology Unit, Mutualiste Hospital, Groupe Hospitalier Mutualiste, 8-10 rue Docteur Calmette, F-38000 Grenoble, France. fabienstenard@gmail.com
Telephone: +33-476707250
Received: March 19, 2015
Peer-review started: March 20, 2015
First decision: May 16, 2015
Revised: June 24, 2015
Accepted: August 28, 2015
Article in press: August 31, 2015
Published online: September 28, 2015
Processing time: 192 Days and 18.3 Hours
Abstract

Bariatric surgery is the only effective procedure that provides long-term sustained weight loss. Sleeve gastrectomy (SG) has emerged over the last few years to be an ideal bariatric procedure because it has several advantages compared to more complex bariatric procedures, including avoiding an intestinal bypass. However, several published follow-up studies report an increased rate of gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) after a SG. GERD is described as either de novo or as being caused by aggravation of preexisting symptoms. However, the literature on this topic is ambivalent despite the potentially increased rate of GERDs that may occur after this common bariatric procedure. This article reviews the mechanisms responsible for GERD in obese subjects as well as the results after a SG with respect to GERD. Future directions for clinical research are discussed along with the current surgical options for morbidly obese patients with GERD and undergoing bariatric surgery.

Keywords: Gastroesophageal reflux; Sleeve gastrectomy; Morbid obesity; Bariatric surgery; Gastric bypass

Core tip: Bariatric surgery is the only effective means to sustain weight loss. Sleeve gastrectomy (SG) has become popular because of its advantages over more complex bariatric procedures. However, an increased rate of gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) has been reported after SG that is either de novo or is caused by aggravation of preexisting symptoms. The literature is ambivalent about the implications for increased rates of GERD after SG. This article reviews the mechanisms of GERD in obese subjects, and the results from SG with respect to GERD. Future directions are discussed along with current surgical options for obese patients with GERD and undergoing bariatric surgery.