Gastric bypass in a Japanese man with Prader-Willi syndrome and morbid obesity.

Background: In Prader-Willi syndrome (PrWS), marked obesity is the most serious and common complication, contributing significantly to morbidity and mortality. Because of the associated psychosocial difficulties, bariatric surgery appears to be the only effective treatment.

Case Report: A 30-year-old man with PrWS weighing 108 kg (BMI 50 kg/m2), underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP). 3 months before the RYGBP, he weighed 146 kg (BMI 68.5), partly because of heart failure. 18 months after RYGBP, he weighed 92.4 kg (BMI 43.3), with no postoperative complications. Moreover, he showed considerable increase in serum HDL-cholesterol levels with reciprocal reduction in LDL-cholesterol after the surgery.

Conclusion: RYGBP resulted in satisfactory weight loss and improvement in serum lipid profile in a Japanese morbidly obese patient with PrWS.