The Effects of the Staple Line Reinforcement Procedures on Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Its Early Results in Sleeve Gastrectomy

Background: The laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) procedure is the most common bariatric surgical technique worldwide, but controversy continues over staple line reinforcement (SLR) techniques. This prospective randomized study aimed to compare the effects of SLR methods on early postoperative complications and gastrointestinal symptoms in patients undergoing LSG for morbid obesity. Materials and Methods: Ninety patients who underwent LSG surgery for obesity between June 2019 and February 2020 in the Department of General Surgery of Bezmialem Vakif University were included in our prospective randomized study. According to the SLR techniques, three groups were determined as Group 1: using fibrin sealant (Tisseel (R)), Group 2: omentopexy, Group 3: no SLR, with each group having 30 randomly assigned patients. Gastrointestinal symptoms were assessed by performing the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS) for all patients following the first week and first month. On the second postoperative day, all patients underwent swallow-graphy to investigate twists and fistula. Results: The test group included 90 patients totally, of which 17 are males and 73 are females with a mean age of 35.3 +/- 11.6 years and a mean body mass index of 45.3 +/- 7.7 kg/m(2). According to the GSRS, reflux and indigestion scores in Group 3 were significantly higher than those in the other groups in the first week (P < .001). There was no statistically significant difference in abdominal pain scores in the first week. Group 3's operation time was statistically significantly shorter than the other groups (Group 1 P = .005; Group 2 P = .001). In Group 3, 2 patients (2.2%) had bleeding. There was no mortality. There were no twists or fistulas found in swallow graphs. Symptomatic reflux was not observed in the first-year follow-up period. Conclusions: SLR methods reduce gastrointestinal system complaints in the early postoperative period. In our study, omentopexy and fibrin sealant used in LSG did not show a statistically significant difference in early postoperative complications.