Gastric bypass trumps lap-band for diabetes, weight-loss benefits | Research roundup

Two studies show that gastric bypass surgery has better long-term results compared with sleeve gastrectomy and "lap-band" surgery.

The benefits of gastric bypass include greater weight loss, resolution of diabetes and improved quality of life, according to the two reports published in the February issue of Archives of Surgery.

The findings were announced less than a week after the Food & Drug Administration approved Allergan Inc.‘s (NYSE:AGN) Lap-Band gastric banding system for less-obese patients.

One study, by doctors at Min-Sheng General Hospital, National Taiwan University, found that 93 percent of its subjects treated with gastric-bypass lost more than 40 percent of their excess weight, compared with 31 percent of Lab-Band recipients. The study also found that Type 2 diabetes remission and quality of life were also better for gastric-bypass patients.

Another study, designed by University of California, San Francisco, professor Eric Vittinghoff, found that Gastric bypass was also associated with fewer repeat operations than Lap-Band procedures, although overall complications were similar for both procedures. Previous research has shown that Lap-Band surgery is safer than gastric bypass.

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