Reoperation after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding: analysis of a cohort of 500 patients with long-term follow-up.

Background: To assess the rates and causes of reoperations in a long-term follow-up of a cohort of morbidly obese patients treated by laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding.

Methods: A retrospective study was performed to evaluate a cohort of 498 consecutive patients who had undergone laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding since 1996. The first 50 patients were excluded to avoid the learning curve bias.