Surgical Procedures of Morbid Obesity

Background : Surgical intervention has been recently advocated in the treatment of morbid obesity. The objective of this study was to review surgery as an alternative in the treatment of morbidly obese adolescents.
Materials and Methods : This research was conducted by searching English websites such as PubMed, Up to Date, and Google Scholar, as well as some Persian websites including SID, Iranmedex, and Magiran. Articles published from 2000 to 2010 on interventional and clinical trials were reviewed for treatment of morbid obesity in adolescents. Keywords used in internet searches include obesity adolescence and surgery.
Results : The results obtained from the studies indicated that 4% of American adolescents suffer from morbid obesity. So far, pharmacological treatment and other approaches toward this type of obesity have been inefficient. Hence, surgery was employed as one of the new approaches to the treatment of this disorder. According to the National Health Institute criteria, in the treatment of adolescent candidates for surgery, anthropometric measurements are performed together with the measurement of other co-morbidities of obesity. Adolescents whose percentiles are ≥99 are considered as morbidly obese patients.
Conclusion : The results of the studies suggested that for the extremely obese adolescents, who do not respond to other types of medical interventions within 6 months, surgery can be performed. Adolescents with BMI of ≥40 kg/m2 and skeletal maturity, or those with co morbidities of obesity, or 13-year-old girls and boys ≥15 years of age can be candidates for surgery. However, the side effects of obesity should not be neglected. Therefore, before the adolescent obesity become morbid obesity, preventive measures should be taken through changes in lifestyle.