Weight loss surgery effective regardless of age of teens

Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is an effective approach to surgical weight loss in adolescents, according to a study published online April 11 in Surgical Endoscopy.

Jun Tashiro, M.D., from New York University Langone Health in New York City, and colleagues evaluated the effects of parental history of bariatric surgery, as well as age at time of operation, on adolescents who underwent LSG (2010 through 2019). The analysis included a retrospective review of 328 patients aged 10 to 19 years undergoing LSG at a single institution.

The researchers found that 23.2 percent of patients had parents who had previously undergone bariatric surgery. At the time of the operation, these patients were significantly heavier by weight but had no difference in postoperative weight loss. There were few differences in outcomes when comparing by age at operation (younger than 16 years: 102 individuals; 16 years or older: 226 individuals).

"This study shows that bariatric surgery is just as effective for younger adolescents as for older kids," senior author Evan Nadler, M.D., said in a statement. "Adolescents and teens with severe obesity face many significant barriers to accessing metabolic bariatric surgery, and while they wait, obesity-related comorbidities may continue to develop and impact their health. We as doctors should work together to remove these barriers when appropriate, so more young people who need this safe and effective treatment can get it."

One author was paid by W.L. Gore Inc. to train those interested in building adolescent weight loss surgery programs.

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