Surgical treatment of medically refractory gastroparesis in the morbidly obese.

Introduction: Surgical management of medically refractory gastroparesis remains a challenge. Case series and small retrospective studies describe clinical benefits from surgical intervention; however, no study reports the efficacy of gastric electrical stimulation (GES) or Roux-en-Y gastrojejunostomy with or without near-total gastrectomy (RYGJ) in morbidly obese patients with severe gastroparesis.

Methods: A chart review was performed on all morbidly obese patients (BMI > 35 kg/m(2)) who underwent GES or RYGJ for medically refractory gastroparesis from March 2002 to December 2012 at the Cleveland Clinic.