Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) has a specific morbidity profile in which gastric leak (GL) is the main complication. With a view to defining a standardized protocol for GL management, the present retrospective study sought to describe the clinical patterns of post-LSG GL and treatment of the latter in our university medical center. From July 2004 to December 2010, 25 patients were included. GL was described in terms of clinical presentation, time to onset, and location in the staple line. Treatment of GL with pharmacologic, radiologic, endoscopic, and/or surgical procedures was always validated by a multidisciplinary care team. "Treatment success" was defined as the absence of contrast agent leakage on CT and endoscopy after removal of covered metallic stent or pigtail drains. Systemic inflammation and peritonitis were the main signs for early-onset GL (56%), whereas pulmonary symptoms and intra-abdominal abscesses revealed delayed-onset GL (44%). Surgery was always performed for early-onset GL. In the total study population, the median number of endoscopic procedures was five (range, 1-11) per patient, of covered SEMS was three (range, 1-8), and of pigtail drains was three (range, 1-4). Nine (36%) patients presented endoscopic-related complications. Four (16%) patients with treatment failure underwent radical surgery. The mortality rate was 4% (n = 1). The management of post-LSG GL is challenging. Surgery was always performed for early-onset GL, whereas treatment of delayed-onset GL was based on endoscopy. Pigtail drains required fewer procedures per patient, were better tolerated, and had lower morbidity-mortality than covered SEMS.

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Morbid obesity is a public health problem in the United States and Europe and its prevalence is on the increase. Despite certain progress the efficacy of medical treatment remains limited. Bariatric surgery has consequently become an effective alternative for patients with morbid obesity. The bariatric operations most frequently performed are laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LGB), but laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is increasingly popular with both bariatric surgeons and patients due to its simplicity, rapidity and decreased morbidity. The purpose of this pictorial essay is to familiarize radiologists with the normal postoperative anatomic features and the imaging findings of postoperative gastrointestinal complications of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy because little literature exists on this subject.

GS after LSG is a rare complication but requires standardized management. Most cases can be treated successfully with endoscopic balloon dilatation.

Initial BMI was significantly higher in the SG group but was no longer significantly different from the BMI of the GB group at 12 and 24 months. Excess BMI loss was higher after SG than after GB. This reduction of BMI was considered to be a success for GB. Thus, results of SG should be considered as a success. Quality of life was not significantly different between the three groups. These results validated SG as first procedure or after failure of GB.

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Longitudinal sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) has been validated for the treatment of morbid obesity. However, treatment failures can appear several months after SG. Additional malabsorptive surgery is generally recommended in such cases. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the outcomes of repeat SG (re-SG) relative to first-line SG. This was a retrospective study included 15 patients underwent re-SG after failure of first-line SG (i.e. University Hospital, France; Public Practice). These patients were matched (for age, gender, body mass index and comorbidities) 1:2 with 30 patients having undergone first-line SG. The efficacy criteria comprised intra-operative data and postoperative data. The overall study population comprised 45 patients. The re-SG and first-line SG groups did not differ significantly in terms of median age (p = NS). The median BMI was similar in the two groups (43 kg/m(2) vs. 42.3 kg/m(2), p = NS). The two groups were similar in terms of the prevalence of comorbidities. The mean operating time was longer in the re-SG group (116 vs. 86 min; p ≤ 0.01). The postoperative complication rate was twice as high in the re-SG group (p = 0.31). Two patients in the re-SG group developed a gastric fistula (p = 0.25) and one of the latter died. At 12 months, the Excess Weight Loss was 66% (re-SG group) and 77% (first-line SG group) (p = 0.05). Re-SG is feasible but appears to be associated with a greater risk of complications. Nevertheless, re-SG can produce results (in terms of weight loss), equivalent to those obtained after first-line SG.

UGIB after LSG was investigated in the context of a postoperative GF and was found to have been caused by a pseudoaneurysm in 75 % of cases. When looking for a pseudoaneurysm, a primary angiography should be preferred to endoscopy allowing selective arterial embolization in hemodynamically stable patients, whereas surgery should be reserved for treatment failures or hemodynamically instability.