Gastric bypass surgery is normally recommended for people with a bio mass index of over 40. Doctors advise gastric bypass surgery when desirable weight loss doesn’t occur even after exercising and dieting.
As with any surgery a gastric bypass surgery has its inherent risks. Besides the general risk involved there are risks that are specific to this particular surgery. All pros and cons must be concerned before a person decodes to under go weight loss surgery.
General risks of a surgery:
- There may be problems related to anesthesia. Complications may include allergic reactions, breathing problems or even death in rare cases.
- There are chances that you may develop blood clots in the legs, which may travel to the lungs.
- A surgery could mean numerous infections including infected incisions, lungs, kidney or bladder.
There could be considerable blood loss too.
In rare cases there have been heart attacks or strokes even as the surgery is underway.
These are some of the general risks which are a part of any kind of surgery. There are a few risks that are specific to gastric bypass surgery too. Some may occur immediately after the surgery and some take a little time to develop.
A few of the immediate risks involved with gastric bypass surgery are:
- Injury to any of the internal organs during the surgery, especially to the stomach and intestines.
- The stomach is stapled during the surgery. There are chances that there may be leakages from the staples. In this case the patient will need an emergency surgery.
- Cases of depression have also been reported.
Certain problems or risks are experienced with time:
- The pouch may experience a collapse, resulting in another surgery to put it right.
- A second surgery may be required if the opening between the small intestine and the stomach pouch becomes narrower than normal.
- A reduced absorption of nutrients may lead to deficiencies in levels of iron, vitaminB12, calcium etc. these lead to complications like anemia, osteoporosis and general weakness.
- It has been observed that incidents of gallstones and other gallbladder problems are higher due to the sudden weight loss.
- Ailments like gastritis, stomach ulcers or heart burns also become common.
- The intake of food has to be limited or else it will lead to nausea and vomiting.
- Incisional hernia is also another common problem.
- Another typical risk is food dumping that occurs when the food passes too quickly from the stomach to the small intestine.
Gastric bypass surgery may seem like an easy option for those who are looking for rapid weight loss. This surgery has many risks involved with it. A person who undergoes the surgery needs to make major changes in eating habits to avoid problems.