Gastric Surgery Patients Susceptible to Complications

A study has found that the same health risks that make morbidly obese patients eligible for gastric bypass surgery also leave them susceptible to complications during and after the surgery.

The 335 patients in the study all had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, the most popular surgery in the treatment of severely obese patients. The procedure involves stapling the upper stomach to create a small pouch that is then attached to the small intestine, reducing the capacity of the stomach. Subsequent radiologic imaging identified 57 complications, many of them multiple problems in the same patients, including suture tears and leaks, pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, and infection. There were also two deaths within 30 days of the 335 surgeries.

"This should not be considered a cosmetic procedure,” said lead author Elmar Merkle, M.D., of University Hospitals of Cleveland (OH, USA; www.uhhs.com). "People need to be aware of the potential complications of this surgery. It basically should be the last option we can offer the morbidly obese, after other less-invasive interventions such as diet and exercise have been tried.” Dr. Merkle presented the findings at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago (IL, USA).





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