Over half of the patients who undergo adjustable gastric banding may require revision bariatric surgery.

Commentary on : Lazzati A, De Antonio M, Paolino L, et al . Natural history of adjustable gastric banding: lifespan and revisional rate. A nationwide study on administrative data on 53,000 patients. Ann Surg 2017;265:439–445. Worldwide obesity and its consequences are increasing at alarming rates.1 The only long-term proven treatment for obesity and its comorbidities is bariatric surgery.2 In 2008, the adjustable gastric band (AGB) was the most commonly performed bariatric procedure.3 Its early low complication rate and technically easy learning curve made it very popular; however, long-term complications have dogged this operation. Additionally, weight recidivism has led to band removal in 50% of patients4. This large French national retrospective study of prospectively collected data examines AGB survival and revision rates after …