Bariatric Surgery Risks and Complications

If you only listened to what the bariatric surgeons have to say about weight loss surgery, you'd think it was the best thing since penicillin. Many of their brochures and websites show fitness models running along a white-sand beach, their arms raised in triumph. The message is clearly implied: Get weight loss surgery, and you could feel and look like this!

The trouble is, they don't say much about bariatric surgery risks and complications. And that's where this website comes into the picture.

Bariatric Risks and Complications - A Compendium

Many people suffer complications from bariatric surgery, and these complications run the gamut from minor annoyances to death. So before you consider this type of procedure, consider the following. For your convenience, we have divided this page into the various types of weight loss surgery.

General Bariatric Surgery (All Types)

"Although zinc deficiency is common after bariatric surgery, its incidence is underestimated ... Zinc supplementation is necessary early after bariatric surgery, but this requirement is often underestimated or is inadequate." -National Center for Biotechnology Information

"Sixty percent of responders estimated they were consulted to see 1–10 patients requiring specialized nutrition support over the previous year as a result of complications of bariatric surgery. The most common indications for specialized nutrition support in these patients were anastomotic leak/fistula (49%) and chronic nausea/vomiting (27%)." -Vanderbilt University Medical Center

"The results of our study show that patients who have had bariatric surgery have a two-fold risk of developing a [bone] fracture, or sustaining a fracture, as compared to the normal population." -Mayo Clinic

"Bariatric surgery has recently been shown to be associated with a significant risk of nephrolithiasis [or kidney stones]. The main risk factor for nephrolithiasis is increased excretion of urinary oxalate." -Oxford Journals

"The state is investigating NYU Medical Center's booming weight-loss surgery practice, after three patients perished -- including a young lawyer who may have died of thirst -- following bariatric procedures." -New York Post

"Some bariatric surgery patients may trade one type of addiction for another, according to a small study of patients who entered substance abuse programs after surgery." -MedPage Today

"[Weight loss surgery] still results in the death of 1 in 200 patients and can result in complications such as blood clots, hernias or bowel obstructions. Patients can end up back in the hospital to repair intestinal leaks that can lead to serious infection." -Los Angeles Times

"Fears are rising, however, that the surgery's downsides are being taken too lightly, especially as it has become big business. The recent data published in JAMA make obesity surgery sound like a catch-all remedy for related diseases. But the study's authors note that they didn't include the rate of surgery complications in their research." -BusinessWeek

"But Keidar cited data showing that, depending on the type of procedure, complications such as gastric or intestinal leakage, strictures, and general complications of abdominal surgery occur in up to 20% of patients." -MedPage Today

"Several well-described nutritional problems such as B12 and iron deficiency will be noted in these patients [who have bariatric surgery procedures] ... If these problems are left undiagnosed, severe and irreparable problems can result." -American Diabetes Association

"Many patients experience symptoms of iron deficiency and anemia; these are potentially serious problems after gastric bypass" -Medscape

"Micronutrient deficiencies are well-known complications of bariatric surgery, especially malabsorptive procedures such as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. These complications can sometimes be permanent and disabling, as described in my patient above." -Endocrine Today

"About 16 percent of people who underwent bariatric surgery developed peripheral neuropathy, according to one study of more than 400 people conducted by the Mayo Clinic." -LiveStrong.com

"Rates for other complications, such as ulcers, dumping (involuntary vomiting or defecation), hemorrhage, wound reopening, deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, heart attacks and strokes remained relatively unchanged." -Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

"Long-term follow-up with doctors experienced in the care of patients having these procedures, as well as lifelong vitamin supplementation, is essential to avoid life-threatening complications." -Journal of the American Medical Association

"In some cases, if the malnutrition is not addressed promptly, diseases such as pellagra, beri beri, and kwashiorkor may occur along with permanent damage to the nervous system." -National Institutes of Health

"Research indicates that about 10 percent of patients who undergo bariatric surgery may have unsatisfactory weight loss or regain much of the weight that they lost." -National Institutes of Health

Some patients suffer from vitamin and mineral malabsorption after their surgery. This means the body can no longer properly absorb essential items. According to the Mayo Clinic website, complications resulting from malabsorption may include:

• Neurologic complications from vitamin B12 deficiency
• Possible bone disease due to mineral or vitamin D deficiency
• Anemia due to deficiency of iron or vitamin B12
• Kidney stone disease due to changes in how the body absorbs calcium and oxalate

-Source: http://www.mayoclinic.org/bariatric-surgery/complications.html

"[P]atients may also develop symptoms related to increased transit of ingested food directly into the small bowel ("dumping syndrome")." -Medscape

Gastric Bypass

"One possible complication of gastric bypass surgery is the development of an ulcer where the small intestine is attached to the upper portion of the stomach. Ulcers may occur in 5 percent of people who have gastric bypass surgery." -Mayo Clinic

"I think there's a fundamental problem with putting a rigid plastic object around a moving organ. You're asking it to stay in place and not erode over a long period of time," said Brandt, who is also director of the pediatric surgical program at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. -MSNBC

"About one-third of all people having surgery for obesity develop gallstones or a nutritional deficiency condition such as anemia or osteoporosis." -WebMD

"A recent study by researchers at the University of Washington found that 1 in 50 people die within one month of having gastric bypass surgery, and that figure jumps nearly fivefold if the surgeon is inexperienced." -CBS News

"Because of the altered anatomy, absorption of iron from the proximal gastrointestinal tract is impaired. Anemia develops in some patients with inadequate oral supplementation or chronic occult blood loss." -Science Daily

Gastric Banding Procedures

"The state is investigating NYU Medical Center's booming weight-loss surgery practice, after three patients perished -- including a young lawyer who may have died of thirst -- following bariatric procedures." -New York Post

"The long-term risk of the band may be as high as 25 percent," said Dr. Paresh Shah, a surgeon at Lenox Hill Hospital. -New York Post