Background: The effects of vertical banded gastroplasty/Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (Capella) on the esophageal mucosa of patients with histological esophagitis are poorly understood. To evaluate long-term effects, we investigated the persistence, aggravation or disappearance of histological esophagitis in patients with morbid obesity and reflux esophagitis (diagnosed by endoscopic biopsy) after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.
Methods: Twenty-one patients with morbid obesity and esophagitis (histological diagnosis) were submitted to gastric bypass (Fobi-Capella technique) and underwent upper endoscopy and esophageal biopsy during the late postoperative period.
Results: The mean age of the patients was 42.57 +/- 7.49 years (30 to 56). Nineteen (90.48%) patients were women, and two (9.52%) were men. Before surgery, the patients presented a mean weight of 124.26 +/- 19.09 kg and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 48.46 +/- 6.37 kg/m(2). Thirteen (61.90%) patients had endoscopic esophagitis before surgery. The mean weight and BMI were 81.65 +/- 13.16 kg and 31.91 +/- 4.99 kg/m(2), respectively, during the late postoperative period (29.80 +/- 8.91 months). The mean percentage of excess weight loss was 68.7 +/- 14.6%. Among the 21 patients with a preoperative histological diagnosis of reflux esophagitis, five (23.18%) had the same diagnosis after surgery, and four (19.04%) continued to present findings of endoscopic esophagitis.
Conclusion: Vertical banded gastroplasty/Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (Capella technique) is effective in the treatment of reflux esophagitis. No association was observed between the percentage of excess weight loss and improvement of esophagitis.