ABSTRACT Purpose To analyze the effectiveness of vertical gastrectomy in the treatment of obese patients, adherence to clinical follow-up and the influence of factors such as gender and age. Methods This is a retrospective, observational and descriptive study, conducted with patients undergoing vertical gastrectomy, operated at Hospital São Domingos, between January 2016 and July 2018. Results Most patients undergoing vertical gastrectomy were female (n = 193, 72.28%) and had a mean age of37.11 ± 8.96 years old. The loss of follow-up was 56.18%. Among adherent patients (n = 117; 43.82%), most patients were female (n = 89; 76.07%) and had a mean age of 37.92 ± 9.85 years old. The mean body mass index (BMI) of the adherents in the preoperative was 37.85 ± 3.72 kg/m2. Both BMI and excess weight (EW) showed a statistically significant difference between pre- and postoperative period. Percentage of excess weight loss (% EWL) was satisfactory for 96.6% of adherent patients. Older patients had a statistically significant lower % EWL compared to the other groups. Conclusions Vertical gastrectomy was effective in the treatment of obese patients, with significant weight loss.