Weight loss and health status 10 years after laparoscopic adjustable gastric band insertion in adolescents: a follow-up report from Teen-LABS

Background: Metabolic and bariatric surgery is a safe and effective treatment strategy for severe childhood obesity, affecting 10% of US adolescents.

Objectives: This prospective observational study addresses knowledge gaps related to changes in weight, cardiometabolic risk, and weight-related quality of life (WRQOL) in adolescents 10 years after laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (LAGB) insertion.

Setting: Five Teen-Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (Teen-LABS) US centers.

Methods: Anthropometric, micronutrient, cardiometabolic risk, and WRQOL data were collected on 274 adolescents undergoing metabolic and bariatric surgery, of which 14 participants underwent LAGB insertion (2008-2011). Descriptive analyses compared outcomes from baseline to 10 years.

Results: Participants were mostly female (86%), White (71%), with a median age of 18.5 years and preoperative median BMI of 49. Baseline prevalence of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia were 1 of 14 (7%), 8 of 14 (57%), and 8 of 13 (62%), respectively, versus 10-year prevalence of 1 of 8 (13%), 4 of 10 (40%), and 3 of 9 (33%), respectively. Two participants underwent LAGB removal (years 2 and 3), whereas two converted from LAGB to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (years 2 and 6). Following initial BMI reduction (-10%) at year 1, 10-year median BMI in the LAGB retention group was 51, representing a 9.2% increase versus baseline. Micronutrient abnormalities and WRQOL remained similar between baseline and 10 years. One participant (1 of 14) withdrew from the study at year 7.

Conclusions: Long-term follow-up of this cohort reveals that LAGB had minimal impact on BMI, cardiometabolic risk factors, and WRQOL among adolescents. These results confirm the limited efficacy of LAGB in the pediatric population.