Quality of Life

Improvement in Quality of Life is one of the most gratifying outcomes of bariatric surgery. A number of studies clearly demonstrate major QOL improvements following Lap-Band® surgery. We reported a large prospective study of QOL after Lap-Band® surgery, which employed the Medical Outcomes Trust Short Form-36 (SF-36) [Dixon, 2001 #2124]. The SF-36 is a reliable, broadly used instrument that has been validated in obese people.

In our study, 459 severely obese subjects had lower scores compared with community normal values for all 8 aspects of QOL measured, especially the physical health scores. Lap-Band® surgery provided a dramatic and sustained improvement in all measures of the SF-36. Improvement was greater in those with more preoperative disability, and the extent of weight loss was not a good predictor of improved QOL. Mean scores returned to those of community normal values by 1 year after surgery, and remained in the normal range throughout the 4 years of the study. It is significant that patients who required revisional surgery during the follow-up period achieved the same improvement in measures of QOL. Similar improvements in QOL have been demonstrated in patients having Lap-Band® surgery for previously failed gastric stapling.