Risks of Gastric Bypass

Before having gastric bypass surgery to lose weight, you should know that there are potential risks and complications from the surgery. The risks typically arise from the things that can go wrong during or after surgery, causing serious problems. Surgical risks for obese people are higher than they are for people of normal weight. Complications from gastric bypass surgery result in one death per 200 to 300 surgeries. Older patients and those with life-threatening health conditions tend to be at higher risk.

Lung and Heart Problems: Atelectasis, Pneumonia, Pulmonary Embolism

• A partial collapse of the lung, called atelectasis, can occur due to the lack of motion in the chest wall as a result of surgery. To prevent this, your doctor should show you how to do deep breathing exercises both before and after surgery. Atelectasis can lead to pneumonia.

  Pneumonia is an infection in the lungs that can be very dangerous. Sometimes these infections come from the gastrointestinal tract, so your doctor should give you antibiotics before surgery to prevent bacteria from entering the lungs.

  Blood clots in the legs sometimes occur in overweight people. They can lead to a pulmonary embolism if they travel to the lungs during or after surgery, resulting in death. Those who are overweight tend to be sedentary, and when you don't move around, the blood can become stagnant, resulting in clots in the leg veins. When the blood clot travels to the lungs it can block the arteries in the lungs, causing a loss of circulation called a pulmonary infarction. This can result in a heart attack, stroke and even death. People who smoke are at an even greater risk.

Stomach, Abdominal, and Digestive Complications

• Staples are used during gastric bypass surgery that may leak and create a serious issue that requires follow-up emergency surgery. This is a problem that may occur after surgery, but can be treated with antibiotics.

  A weakness in the incision can result in an incision hernia. This also may require follow-up surgery to repair it. An incision hernia is more likely to occur in patients who needed a very large abdominal incision.

  In rare circumstances, a narrowing can occur between the stomach and the small intestine after gastric bypass surgery. If this occurs a corrective procedure will be done in which a tube is passed through your mouth to your stomach to widen the opening.

  Many people worry about experiencing a dumping syndrome after having gastric bypass surgery. This is when the contents of the stomach pass too rapidly through the small intestine, resulting in diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. This can occur more frequently when eating sugary or high-fat foods.

Nutritional Deficiencies

• After having gastric bypass surgery your digestive systems don't absorb nutrients as they should. So you will need to take a variety of vitamin supplements. This is a lifelong commitment and is essential for good health. If you do not follow your doctor's recommended supplement plan, you may get nutritional deficiencies from lack of Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, calcium and iron.

Other Complications

• Other complications that can occur after having gastric bypass surgery include: gallstones or kidney stones, low blood sugar from excess insulin production, dehydration, bleeding stomach ulcers, anemia, gastritis, heartburn and sensitivity to certain foods.

Risk from Not Having Gastric Bypass Surgery

• The main risks of gastric bypass surgery are those found with any abdominal surgery. However, when considering health dangers, doctors believe that for most people the risks of severe obesity tend to be of greater concern than those from weight loss surgery.