Gastric bypass surgery (which is also referred to as bariatric or weight loss surgery) is helping tens of thousands of morbidly obese individuals to reduce their risk from such life-threatening conditions as diabetes and to recover much of their previous lifestyle. Complications from gastric bypass surgery can however be significant and must be considered carefully before electing surgery.

A variety of studies have been conducted looking into rates of gastric bypass complication in the short-term and these frequently follow patients for up to 30 days after their procedure. A more recent study however (looking at claims for both hospital and outpatient care for over 5 million individuals who were members of employment health schemes across forty-nine states and including in excess of 2,500 weight loss patients) has extended the findings of prior investigations to look in depth at complications experienced up to 6 months after surgery.

The study revealed that death occurred during the procedure, or in the 6 months following the procedure, in only 0.2% of patients and the most common complications were dumping syndrome (diarrhea, reflux and vomiting) which occurred in about 20% of cases, anastomosis problems (such as leakage or stricture arising at the site of the join between the stomach and the intestine) which occurred in 12% of cases, abdominal hernias in roughly 7% of cases, infections in approximately 6% of cases and pneumonia which occurred in approximately 4% of patients.

The study also showed that in the region of 10% or patients who survived the first 30 days without complication went on to experience problems in the next 5 months. In almost all cases these complications consisted of dumping syndrome, anastomosis problems, abdominal hernia, and marginal ulcers. In addition, although just under 5% of patients had to be re-admitted to hospital during the initial 30 day period, this figure rose to a little over 7% when looking at the longer 6 month timeframe.

The cost of gastric bypass surgery was also impacted considerably by complications and, while patients who experienced surgery free from problems paid an average of $25,000, problems within the 6 month post-surgical period increased this to in the region of $36,500. In cases where individuals had to be re-admitted for further treatment because of gastric bypass complications the cost increased to just over $65,000.

Gastric bypass surgery is very much the beginning of the weight loss process and, as opposed to many forms of surgery which cure the problem more or less on the spot, the results of obesity surgery take some time to show. It is not surprising therefore that problems arise after surgery and these complications must be carefully considered before you make the decision to embark on this particular journey.

Tags: bariatric surgery, gastric bypass complications, obesity surgery, surgical risks, weight loss surgery

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 21st, 2008 at 3:27 pm and is filed under Obesity, Weight Loss Surgery. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.