Revision surgery after sleeve gastrectomy: a nationwide study with 10 years of follow-up

Background Sleeve gastrectomy is the most common bariatric procedure worldwide. Several studies report good short- and midterm results. However, recent studies report alarming long-term outcomes, in particular about the revision rate. Objectives The aim of this study is the assessment of the revisional rate after sleeve gastrectomy and the analysis of most common reasons for surgical conversion and early complications. Setting This study is based on a national claims database comprehensive of all bariatric procedures performed in a 10-year period. Methods The French Programme De Médicalisation des Systèmes d’Information database was used to identify all patients who underwent sleeve gastrectomy between 2008 and 2018. Codes for diagnoses and procedures were used to describe the reason for and the morbidity of revision surgeries. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was performed to compare the risk of having a revision procedure. Results During the analyzed period, a total of 224,718 sleeve gastrectomies were performed. The rate of revision surgery after sleeve gastrectomy was 4.7%, 7.5%, and 12.2%, at 5, 7, and 10 years post procedure, respectively. A history of gastric banding was associated with a higher risk of revision (hazard ratio, 2.81; 95% CI, 2.66–2.95; P < .001). The most common revision procedure was gastric bypass (75.2%), followed by resleeve (18.7%). The main reasons for revision surgery were persistence of obesity (87.0%) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (5.2%). After revision surgery, we observed the following complications: 5.1% gastric leak, 18% bleeding, and reoperation rate of 6.4%. Conclusions This study suggests that a large number of patients who initially underwent a sleeve gastrectomy will undergo a revisional surgery. This information should be considered in the initial choice of the bariatric procedure, and patients should be informed of the mid- and long-term risks.