Intragastric gastric band migration: erosion: an analysis of multicenter experience on 177 patients.

Background: Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) has proven to be a safe and effective surgical treatment for morbid obesity. It can be a simple, fast, reversible, anatomy-preserving procedure. Despite these advantages, its long-term efficacy came into question by the occurrence of complications such as intragastric band migration.

Improvement in health-related quality of life in first year after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding.

Background: We analyzed the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and its determinants in the first year after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB). The setting was 10 Italian public and private bariatric surgery centers.

Methods: Data collected in an ongoing, prospective, 3-year multicenter Italian study on the changes in HRQOL after LAGB were used.

Impact of bariatric surgery on pulmonary function and nitric oxide in asthmatic and non-asthmatic obese patients.

Background: Asthma is an important co-morbidity of obesity. This study evaluated the impact of bariatric surgery on respiratory function in obese patients and compared the outcomes in asthmatic and non-asthmatic subjects.

Methods: The study was observational and prospective and included subjects on waiting list for bariatric surgery.

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding via pars flaccida versus perigastric positioning: technique, complications, and results in 2,549 patients.

Aim: Retrospective multicenter analysis of the results of two different approaches for band positioning: perigastric and pars flaccida.

Methods: Data were collected from the database of the Italian Group for LapBand (GILB). Patients operated from January 2001 to December 2004 were selected according to criteria of case-control studies to compare two different band positioning techniques: perigastric (PG group) and pars flaccida (PF group).