Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy versus laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in the pediatric population: a MBSAQIP analysis.

Background: The growing prevalence of childhood obesity has resulted in an increased number of children and adolescents who undergo bariatric surgery. The safety of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) and laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) remains controversial in the pediatric population.

Objective: To assess the safety of LSG compared with LRYGB in patients aged ≤21 years.

Setting: A retrospective analysis of the 2016 to 2017 Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program database.

Methods: Patients aged ≤21 years who underwent LSG or LRYGB were identified in the 2016 to 2017 Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program database. A logistic regression model was used to create a 1:1 propensity-score matched cohort adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, and obesity-related co-morbidities. Unmatched and propensity-score matched analyses were performed to compare baseline characteristics and outcome data between LSG and LRYGB procedure groups. Primary outcomes of interest included 30-day major complications, such as death, reoperation, and anastomotic leak.

Results: Of 3571 patients included in our study, 2911 (81.52%) underwent LSG and 660 (18.48%) underwent LRYGB. Patients who underwent LRYGB had an increased body mass index and a higher rate of obesity-related co-morbidities. The LRYGB group had a significantly increased rate of major complications within the first 30 days in both the unmatched cohort (4.55% versus 1.34%, P < .001) and the propensity-score matched cohort (4.57% versus .91%, P < .001).

Conclusions: LSG and LRYGB are both relatively safe to perform in the pediatric population with acceptable complication rates and low mortality. However, LSG demonstrated a significantly decreased rate of major complications in the first 30 days compared with LRYGB.