Risks of Gastric Bypass Surgery

Gastric bypass surgery is a serious and complicated type of surgery. It should only be recommended by physicians to extremely obese people who have already tried all kinds of diet and exercises but the efforts still proved to be futile.

Gastric bypass was intended to be the last resort in curing dangerously obese conditions - those that have life-threatening effects. However, since it became popular, many people have thought of it as a quick fix to their weight problems. What makes it more like an ordinary operation is the fact that many celebrities have undergone the procedure, even making the whole process be viewed by the public?

This type of surgery has several side effects and may pose serious risks to the person's health in the future. After the surgery, a patient may experience dumping syndrome. This is due to the fast movement of food through the stomach and the intestines. Dumping syndrome may be in the form of nausea, sweating, faintness, weakness, and diarrhea right after eating.

This condition can be aggravated by eating highly refined and highly caloric foods like sweets. That is why the post gastric bypass surgery diet does not include foods high in carbohydrates and sugar. Dumping syndrome may cause a person to be so weak that the only way to make it pass is to lie down for quite some time and rest.

One risk common to surgeries is infection in the cut. For gastric bypass, a leak from the stomach to the abdominal cavity may occur which can result to infection called peritonitis. Pulmonary embolism or blood clot in the lungs is also possible.

According to a review on obesity done by the American Gastroenterological Association in 2002, about a third of all the people who have undergone surgery on obesity develop gallstones or nutritional deficiency such as anemia or osteoporosis.

The same review revealed more risks of the gastric bypass, as follows:

- More than 30% of the time, a deficiency in Iron and Vitamin B12 occurred. 50% of those with iron deficiency later on developed anemia.
- Stomal stenosis occurred 5 to 15% of the time, which leads to nausea and vomiting after eating. This is due to the narrowing of the connection between the stomach and the intestines.
- 5% to 15% of those who have undergone the surgery developed ulcer.

Other possible risks that may occur after a gastric bypass is the possibility of developing hernia, surgical staples used may become loose and enlargement of the bypassed stomach causing hiccups and bloating.

These risks should definitely be considered before deciding to undergo this type of surgery. Unless gastric bypass is the only option left, strict diet and exercise are still the best options for long-term weight loss.