Assessing the risks of the bariatric surgical treatment of obesity involves operative, perioperative and long term complications. The bariatric gastric bypass surgery and all other weight loss surgery procedures are serious surgical procedures, and like any surgeries, there are inherent risks involved. This is not to say that every obese person will have a complication, but rather, that every obese person has the potential for something to go wrong during the weight loss surgery or postoperatively. The full detailed list of risks will vary with the bariatric gastric bypass surgery option that is decided upon by the bariatric surgeon and the obese patient. It is recommended that any person considering one of the weight loss surgeries or any other surgery consult with their health care professional and the bariatric surgeon to obtain the correct and complete list of the risks. There are nutritional and dietary risks and there are surgical risks.
The International Bariatric Surgery Registry (IBSR), mentioned previously, is the databank and analysis center for thousands of bariatric surgeons to report their procedures, success rates, and complications. This databank allows for a comprehensive review of bariatric surgery for the benefit of all surgeons and patients. In the 2001 report, the current trend toward discharging the post operative patient earlier was examined by its complication rate within the first 30 days. It was found that in the nearly 11,000 patients undergoing a bariatric surgery, that 97% had no complication during the first 30 days that warranted readmission to the hospital.
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30-day event summary following surgical treatment for obesity
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N
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%
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postop hospital stay, days
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age at time of operation
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BMI at operation
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days after surgery when event occurred
|
|
Hospital readmission
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85
|
0.8
|
4.9
|
37.8
|
52.7
|
15.0
|
|
Subsequent procedure
|
169
|
1.5
|
7.7
|
40.0
|
49.8
|
14.0
|
|
Reoperation
|
13
|
0.1
|
10.9
|
35.4
|
46.6
|
6.2
|
|
Death
|
30
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0.3
|
5.7
|
45.4
|
58.8
|
9.4
|
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No 30 day event reported
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10,696
|
97.3
|
4.2
|
39.8
|
49.0
|
N/A
|
|
All patients at operation
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10,993
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100.0
|
4.3
|
39.8
|
49.1
|
N/A
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Descriptive statistics for patient subgroups with complete complication and postoperative hospital stay information from the IBSR Winter 2000-2001 Pooled Report 15, N= 10,993. Subgroups were determined by reported 30-day medical events following operation: i.e. hospital readmissions, subsequent procedures, reoperations and death.
Nearly 30% of obese patients who have bariatric gastric bypass surgery develop nutritional deficiencies such as anemia, osteoporosis, and metabolic bone disease. These deficiencies may be avoided if vitamin and mineral intakes are maintained.
Dumping syndrome is a risk and it is caused by the stomach contents moving too rapidly through the small intestine. The obese post operative bariatric gastric bypass surgical patient will then develop severe cramps, this is called dumping.
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