The study was carried out by Dr Jacques Himpens of Sint- Pieters University Hospital in Brussels and looked at 82 patients who had had gastric bands fitted more than 12 years ago. The procedure involves fitting a silicon band around the top part of the stomach in obese patients, effectively reducing its size and making it impossible for the patient to overeat.
On average, patients lost 43% of the weight they were expected to lose, in a range from 24% to 143%. Of the 36 patients who still had their bands in place, the excess weight loss was between 38% and 58%, with an average of 48%, a figure considered disappointing by doctors. However, more than 60% of patients said they were satisfied with the results.
Critics of the paper, published in the latest issue of the journal Archives of Surgery, point out that the study's sample was too small to draw conclusions and that both the bands and the techniques for implanting them - the band is inserted using laparoscopic surgery - have improved since the study's patients were treated. "My impression is, even with the newer band, the results are not significantly better," Dr Himpens said.
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