Just like any other surgery procedures, before bariatric surgery, surgeons must review the likelihood of complications specifically on patient basis.
As with any surgical procedures there are some points that should be discussed in bariatric surgery. You should discuss operative, postoperative and long term bariatric surgery complications and risks associated with weight loss surgery procedures with your physicians.
Some of the possible following risks (vary depending on the patient) usually observed are:
- Bleeding
- Pulmonary problems
- Marginal ulcers
- Leaks from the suture line
- Complications due to sutures
- Bariatric surgery complications due to anesteshia
- Bariatric surgery complications due to medications
- Deep vein thrombosis
- Post-op infections
- Spleen injury
- Stenosis (abnormal narrowing of gastric pouch in gastric bypass procedures)
In a laparoscopic surgery, your surgeon may switch to open surgery if complications occur during the operation.
Open bariatric surgery can be more invasive. Moreover it might have higher complication rates in some categories, such as hernias and wound infections.
In order to subside all of these risks, surgeons should evaluate each patient’s state seperately for any possible complications before surgery.
You can reduce the likelihood of these complications by choosing experienced health professionals and well-known accredited hospitals.
Dumping syndrome after bariatric surgery
Complications may develop 30 days after bariatric surgery such as dumping syndrome, marginal ulcers, nutritional and vitamin deficiencies.
Dumping syndrome is a complication which patients might experience after gastric bypass, biliopancreatic diversion, and duodenal switch surgeries. Pylorus sphincter is bypassed during the bariatric surgery procedure. Dumping syndrome develops as a result of rapid intake of foods containing dense carbonhydrates into the intestines.
Due to increased peristalsis, patients may experience symptoms like tachycardia, sweating, dizziness, diarrhea, nausea, fatique, abdominal pain, and late hypoglycemia.
The patient should eat frequently, preferably six to eight small meals daily and chew thoroughly to avoid the development of this complication. Additionally, they also should eat high-fibered, complex carbonhydrate (combined sugars) and protein rich foods instead of high sugar foods. Solid and liquids should not be taken together. Liquid foods should be taken 30 minutes after solid foods.