These are the risks of gastric bypass
introduction
The risks of gastric bypass are relatively small in relation to the severity of the procedure and the drastic long-term effects on digestion. The procedure is designed in such a way that serious changes in the size of the stomach and thus in food intake occur, but no anatomically important areas are endangered or removed and no hormonal or further digestive complications should occur.
In order to make the procedure easier to tolerate, in most cases it is performed laparoscopically, i.e. minimally invasively. For this purpose, a camera with light and the necessary instruments are only introduced through a few small incisions. The procedure is made much more difficult in enormously obese or overweight people. Large amounts of fatty tissue make it difficult to get an overview of the abdominal cavity and organs often cannot be precisely differentiated from one another, which can lead to further complications.
For more information on the subject:
- Gastric bypass
- Stomach reduction
What are the risks of the operation?
Typical risks that must always be considered during surgery on the abdomen are accidental damage to the surrounding anatomical structures. In addition to parts of the stomach and intestine, the surgical tools can also damage the liver, spleen, gallbladder, diaphragm, blood vessels and, in rarer cases, the urinary bladder or lower abdominal organs. The risk of these injuries increases due to difficult anatomical conditions, excessive weight or previous operations.
Injuries to the intestine can cause food components to get into the abdominal cavity and cause inflammation there. If the liver, spleen or blood vessels are injured, profuse bleeding may occur during or after the operation. If these defects are noticed during the operation, they must be corrected immediately by the surgeon.
On the other hand, circulatory problems and allergic reactions to the anesthesia can occur less frequently during the operation. In rare cases, patients may have an allergic reaction to an antibiotic, narcotic, or other drug, unknown to them. This can lead to anaphylactic reactions with circulatory problems.
Minimally invasive interventions can cause symptoms in patients with impaired lung function. For a better overview, the abdomen in the operating area is inflated with CO2, which can build up in the body in the event of poor lung function and lead to complaints.
Find out more about the procedure under: OP of a gastric bypass - you should pay attention to this!
What are the risks after the operation?
Many of the surgical risks take hours to days to emerge. Bleeding can sometimes only become relevant after the operation and sometimes require a second operation.
Typical complications after surgery are wound infections. These can range from harmless wound irritation to severe inflammation in the abdominal cavity and can be life-threatening. In the case of major surgery on the abdomen, an antibiotic is usually administered during the operation to reduce the risk of infection. Furthermore, infections can also occur due to errors during the operation. Damaging parts of the intestine, for example, can lead to severe inflammation of the peritoneum as a result of food components entering the abdominal cavity.
Another risk is that it can lead to pain and poorly healing wounds on the abdomen.Wounds cannot always heal properly, especially in the case of diabetics or seriously overweight people.
Long-term risks after the operation
Gastric bypass surgery is a serious and permanent intervention in the digestive system, which can be associated with secondary problems and complications. Important functions of digestion are, in addition to the supply of energy, also the regulation of the water, electrolyte and sugar balance, the supply of vitamins and protein.
Gastric bypass surgery preserves all the necessary parts of the digestive system, but deficiency symptoms and digestive problems can still occur. There are different types of cells in the stomach, whose tasks are, for example, acid production and the digestion of proteins and vitamin B12. The necessary digestive juices are added to the food pulp in the later course of the intestine, but the changes can lead to digestive problems, vitamin deficiency or protein deficiency. A vitamin B12 deficiency can have very drastic consequences.
Read more at: Post-gastric bypass nutrition
For unexplained reasons, food intolerance can also be observed more frequently after gastric bypass operations. During the operation, the seams in the various parts of the intestine can cause blockages or holes in the intestine, which can have different consequences. This is called a leak or a stenosis of the intestine. In these cases, repeated interventions are often necessary.
- Find out about another complication, the so-called dumping syndrome, at: What is dumping syndrome
What can I do to reduce my risk?
In order to reduce the risks of the surgical procedure, you should first stay in bed after the operation to make it easier for the body to heal. Nutrition must also follow strict medical guidelines so that the intestines are not stressed too early by certain foods.
In the long term, the diet must be adapted to the new anatomical conditions after gastric bypass surgery in order to prevent possible risks. It is important that the functions of the bypassed parts of the stomach must be compensated for by a more controlled food intake. The stomach passes the food slowly and in portions to the small intestine. Since this function is no longer available, small portions must be consciously eaten after gastric bypass. In addition, the diet must not contain too large amounts of sugar in order to prevent dumping syndrome. Even if a complete digestion and absorption of proteins and vitamins is still possible, a diet rich in vitamins and protein should be maintained in order to counteract any deficiencies.
Alcohol should be consumed with caution, as alcohol is absorbed into the blood much faster by bypassing the stomach. A waiver is not absolutely necessary, but recommended.
Dumping syndrome
Dumping syndrome is a relatively rare but very typical complication of gastric bypass surgery. A distinction is made between early and late dumping syndrome, although both forms can be life-threatening.
The problem is that the gastric passage happens too quickly after the bypass surgery. As a result, the undigested food pulp reaches the small intestine too quickly and without portions, which can lead to different interactions with the blood in the intestinal wall. Foods with a high sugar content have the effect of binding large amounts of water and thereby drawing fluid from the blood vessels into the interior of the intestine. The small intestine expands greatly and there can be such strong water retention in the intestinal lumen that a large part of the fluid in the blood is lost here. The body cannot immediately compensate for the lack of blood volume, which is why shock symptoms such as a drop in blood pressure, palpitations and fainting can occur. This process is known as early dumping syndrome.
The large amounts of sugar in the small intestine can lead to enormous increases in blood sugar levels after a while, which can also end in fainting, shock, nausea and other complaints. This describes the late dumping syndrome.
