Background

Transumbilical single-incision Roux-en-Y gastric bypass constitutes a delicate technique of the conventional laparoscopic approach, which is the gold standard for the treatment of obesity.

Methods

In order to investigate its efficacy and feasibility, PubMed was searched up to April 25th, 2015. Ten studies reporting on 247 patients with a mean age of 37.3 years were eligible.

Results

Mean preoperative Body Mass Index was 42.4 kg/m(2). Most common comorbidities were diabetes and dyslipidemia. Mean operative time was 128.5 min and mean length of hospital stay was 3.3 days. No conversions to open surgery were reported.

Conclusion

Clinical outcomes of the transumbilical Roux-en-Y gastric bypass appear to be comparable with those of the conventional laparoscopic one. However, more trials are necessary to elucidate all of its aspects.