Possible Bariatric Surgery Complications

Many people around the world who suffer from being drastically overweight, or those who are morbidly obese, are considering bariatric surgery to help them on their weight loss journey.

While this is one option, any weight loss surgery should really be reserved for those who suffer from morbid obesity because of the possible complications during or following the surgery.

Clients who have faced obesity for years and tried medications and weight loss diets that didn’t seem to work for them, may feel like they need to look into some weight loss surgery options as an alternative solution to diet and exercise, or possibly even as a last resort.

When you talk to your doctor about this type of surgery, you should be prepared to ask him any questions you have about the procedure, and make him aware of all of your concerns. Since there are processes that must be followed once the surgery is completed, your doctor will be able to make a better choice of surgery for you if he is aware of your doubts and concerns before hand.

Some of the complications that are occasionally associated with most surgeries, including bariatric bypass surgery, are anemia, incision hernias and infections.

Here is a look at some other complications one should consider when thinking about undergoing bariatric surgery.

One complication that 1 in 3 patients experience is the possibility of gallstones. After the surgery, patients who follow the diet that is used to have rapid and quick weight loss results may develop gallstones.

Many patients are given bile salts to take for up to six months after they have their surgery to help prevent this. However, studies have shown that even when taking these bile salts, patients may still develop gallstones and it is estimated that up to 7% of patients may have to have their gall bladder removed after bariatric surgery.

Another complication that one should take into consideration even though it is very rare, is pulmonary embolism. This occurs when there is a blood clot in the leg and it breaks off and goes to the lungs.

In some cases patients find themselves developing shortness of breath and pain in their chest. To help prevent pulmonary embolism, surgeons will give patients blood thinners and compression stockings. The patient will also be encouraged to get up and move around as soon as possible after surgery.

Bowel obstruction can occur in up to 4% of bariatric surgery patients. These bowel obstructions are caused by scar tissue that builds up in the abdomen, or a kinking that may occur in the bowel.

Patients may develop bowel obstructions shortly after their surgery or as late as years after the surgery. If one starts to experience extreme nausea, vomiting or stomach pain, they should seek immediate medical care because an emergency operation will likely be needed.

Lastly, while the success rate for most of these types of surgeries is high, and no one wants to consider the possibility of dying from bariatric surgery complications, it does happen. This is an extremely rare occurrence, but there have been patients who died either during or because of this surgery.

It is important to note that these patients usually have an underlying health problem such as lung or heart disease, but death can also occur from surgical problems such as blood clots to the lungs as mentioned above.

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