Laparoscopic gastric bypass and gastric banding are both safe and effective approaches for the treatment of morbid obesity. Gastric bypass resulted in better weight loss at medium- and long-term follow-up but was associated with more perioperative and late complications and a higher 30-day readmission rate. There was a wide variation in weight loss after gastric banding with a small proportion of patients considered as treatment failure, and male gender was a predictive factor for poor weight loss.

Gallstone disease, common after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP), may be complicated by biliary duct obstruction and gallstone pancreatitis. Although endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography plays an important role in management of biliary duct obstruction, the altered anatomy of patients who have had a RYGBP makes this procedure technically difficult. With the increased number of patients undergoing RYGBP for morbid obesity, bariatric surgeons may benefit from an alternative laparoscopic technique for accessing the biliary tree. We describe a laparoscopic technique of accessing the biliary tree through the bypassed stomach.

Objective: To compare the outcomes of Medicare beneficiaries who underwent bariatric surgery within 18 months before and after implementation of the national coverage determination (NCD) for bariatric surgery. Main Outcome Measures: Demographics, length of stay, 30-day readmission, morbidity, observed-toexpected mortality ratio, and costs.Results: A total of 3196 bariatric procedures were performed before and 3068 after the NCD. After the implementation of the NCD, the volume of gastric banding doubled and the proportion of laparoscopic gastric bypass increased from 60.0% to 77.2%. Patients who underwent bariatric surgery after the NCD benefited from a shorter length of stay (3.5 vs 3.1 days, PϽ.001) and lower overall complication rates (12.2% vs 10.0%, PϽ.001), with no significant differences in the in-hospital mortality rates (0.28% vs 0.20%). Among Medicare patients, there was a 29.3% reduction in the number of bariatric procedures performed within the first 2 quarters after the NCD. However, the number of procedures returned to baseline volume within 1 year and exceeded baseline volume after 2 years of the NCD. Conclusion:The bariatric surgery NCD resulted in improved outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries without limiting access to care for individuals with medical disability.

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A nasogastric tube (NGT) is commonly used in the postoperative period after esophagectomy for decompression of the gastric conduit. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety of a minimally invasive esophagectomy without the use of NGT decompression. We performed a retrospective review of 124 patients who underwent minimally invasive esophagectomy. Ninety-eight patients had an NGT placed for postoperative decompression and 26 patients did not. The main outcome measure was postoperative complications in regard to the gastric conduit and esophageal anastomosis. There were 96 males with a mean age of 65 ± 11 years. Three (3%) of 98 patients with operative NGT placement developed postoperative complications directly related to the NGT, which included perforation of the gastric conduit (n = 1) and perforation of the anastomosis (n = 2). In the 26 patients without operative NGT decompression, one patient (3.8%) had distention of the gastric conduit requiring placement of a NGT under fluoroscopic guidance on postoperative Day 1. There was no significant difference in the leak rate between the groups with NGT decompression compared with the group without NGT decompression (9.2 vs 7.7%, respectively). In conclusion, the use of NGT decompression during minimally invasive esophagectomy can be safely omitted. In cases with postoperative gastric conduit distention, an NGT can be safely placed under fluoroscopic guidance.