Abstract
We report a case of a 6-year-old girl suffering from morbid obesity, Blount`s disease, and significant social and functional impairment who underwent a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. One year later, she has shown remarkable improvement in all aspects of her health emphasizing the success of the procedure. A follow-up laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or biliopancreatic diversion (BPD) are options if she regains weight as she gets older. This case is noteworthy for several reasons. The age of the patient is younger than any currently on record who has had this treatment. Additionally, the utilization of a sleeve gastrectomy as a first-step procedure, to be followed by Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or BPD, remains a novel treatment for morbid obesity in a pediatric population.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Lara MD, Kothari SN, Sugerman HJ. Surgical management of obesity: a review of the evidence relating to the health benefits and risks. Treat Endocrinol. 2005;4(1):55–64.
Whitaker RC, Wright JA, Pepe MS, et al. Predicting obesity in young adulthood from childhood and parental obesity. N Engl J Med. 1997;337:869–73.
Xanthakos SA, Daniels SR, Inge TH. Bariatric surgery in adolescents: an update. Adolesc Med Clin. 2006;17:589–612.
Varness T, Allen DB, Carrel AL, et al. Childhood obesity and medical neglect. Pediatrics. 2009;123(1):399–406.
Till HK, Muensterer O, Keller A, et al. Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy achieves substantial weight loss in an adolescent girl with morbid obesity. Eur J Pediatr Surg. 2008;18(1):47–9.
Kueper MA, Kramer KM, Kirschniak A, et al. Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: standardized technique of a potential stand-alone bariatric procedure in morbidly obese patients. World J Surg. 2008;32(7):1462–5.
Bjørge T, Engeland A, Tverdal A, et al. Body mass index in adolescence in relation to cause-specific mortality: a follow-up of 230, 000 Norwegian adolescents. Am J Epidemiol. 2008;168:30–7.
Kushner RK. Obesity management. Gastroenterol Clin N Am. 2007;36:191–210.
Inge TH. Bariatric surgery for pediatric extreme obesity:now or later? Int J Obes (Lond). 2007;31:1–14.
Cottam D, Qureshi FG, Mattar SG, et al. Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy as an initial weight-loss procedure for high risk patients with morbid obesity. Surg Endosc. 2006;20:859–63.
Fried M, Hainer V, Basdevant A, et al. Bariatric Scientific Collaborative Group Expert Panel Interdisciplinary European Guidelines for surgery for severe (morbid) obesity. Obes Surg. 2007;17:260–70.
Garcia VF, DeMaria EJ. Adolescent bariatric surgery: treatment delayed, treatment denied, a crisis invited. Obes Surg. 2006;16:1–4.
Baltasar A, Serra C, Bou R, et al. Sleeve gastrectomy in a 10-year-old child. Obes Surg. 2008;18:733–6.
Till H, Blüher S, Hirsch W, et al. Efficacy of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) as a stand-alone technique for children with morbid obesity. Obes Surg. 2008;18:1047–9.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
Financial Information: There are no financial constraints or conflicts of interest associated with this manuscript.
The processes involved in the construction of this article, as well as the final version of this article have been granted appropriate ethical approvals. Additionally, parental consent has been procured for the submission of information contained within this article.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dan, D., Harnanan, D., Seetahal, S. et al. Bariatric Surgery in the Management of Childhood Obesity: Should There be an Age Limit?. OBES SURG 20, 114–117 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-009-9996-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-009-9996-2