Stomach bypass surgery, using “keyhole,” or laparoscopic techniques, is a safe method of achieving weight loss in older patients and the benefits in this age group are similar to those seen in younger patients, new research shows.

The results suggest that “patients older than 60 years can be considered good candidates for obesity surgery,” senior author Dr. James M. Swain and colleagues, from the Mayo Clinic Scottsdale in Arizona, note.

However, longer patient follow-up is needed to determine whether the postoperative benefits “translate into a long-term survival benefit or overall health cost savings.”

The findings, which appear in Archives of Surgery, are based on a comparison of 110 patients younger than 60 years and 20 patients older than 60 years who underwent laparoscopic stomach surgery at the authors’ institution.

The complication rate and the hospital length of stay was no different for younger and older patients, the investigators note.

Younger patients experienced greater weight loss than and more complete resolution of weight-related diseases than older patients. However, older patients showed a greater overall reduction in medication needs.

“Patients of advanced age can safely undergo (stomach bypass surgery) with operative results nearly identical to those of younger patients,” the team concludes.

SOURCE: Archives of Surgery, February 2005.