it has never been accepted as a standard of care bariatric surgery in thr usa, not just not by the ASMBS but not by anyone. I have never heard of any insurer in the usa covering it, either, and for once I agree with the insurers. The main advantage is to the surgeon, not the patient. It's quicker and easier to do. But it places the patient at risk for bile reflux from the small intestine into the pouch and from there into the esophagus. And bile reflux won't respond to antacids because bile is a base, not an acid.
I'm not a big fan of RNY gastric bypass, but it's far superior to MGB. It's very unfortunate that MGB has that sweet, appealing sounding name. It's really still major surgery, just not quite as major as RNY gastric bypass, and with higher long term risk. I'm very sad to learn that it's only American proponent that I know of is spreading this poor operation overseas.
