Gastric Bypass Surgery Risks
Details on the risks involved with gastric bypass surgery.
Quoting an anonymous author, but I must say a reliable source, the risk of a weight-control operation is mainly the risk of having any abdominal operation. Gastric bypass surgery may indeed be an answer to one of the leading and largest problem of people – obesity, and may offer a number of desirable outcomes such as weight-loss, and low-calorie intake but like any other form of surgeries; it has its own share of risks. It is actually the act of having a weight control operation, and not the particular operation that causes most of the risk. Mind you, the operation does not end in the surgery; it ends when you have achieved the weight-loss and has gone to full recovery.
Bleeding, infection or adverse reaction to the anesthesia would be among the common risks that accompany gastric bypass surgery. These risks would mainly come from its complications. Other infections would be anastomotic leakage, atelectasis, pneumonia, deep venous thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism. Follow up operations to remedy these complications may provoke the risk for acquiring gallstones and nutritional deficiencies such as anemia and osteoporosis.
Lung problems such as those mentioned above: atelectasis, pneumonia and pulmonary embolism, are risks that will sprout from the complications made by the surgery. Very briefly, atelectasis is the condition where a part of the lungs has collapsed which is caused by a lack of motion in the chest wall. The most effective and encouraged treatment for this would be prevention. In order to prevent such thing to happen, the patient is encouraged to practice and exercise deep breathing and lung exercises. This is taught to the patient before the surgery and is very much encouraged to be done repeatedly after so. Atelectasis may cause fever after the surgery and may develop to pneumonia.
Pneumonia is a known infection to the lungs which can be very serious and deadly especially when the infecting organisms come from the gastrointestinal tract which can be very destructive. Pulmonary embolism on the other hand is a dilemma that affects not only the lungs but it also makes its way through the heart. It starts with the legs through a blood clot which is likely to occur after the surgery when most of the patients refuse to move around and exercise their body which makes the body and the blood stagnant and clots in the veins in our legs. If these clots breaks off and float its way to the veins of the lungs, this will result to pulmonary embolism. If and when the circulation in the large part of the lung is affected, the heart would then be subjected to a lot of strain which can be very fatal.
Among the infections that may happen are abscess, wound infection and yes, urinary tract infection. Bleeding may also happen in the form of the heparin effect, hemorrhage and transfusions. There is also the possibility of having a bowel obstruction, leakage of bowel connection, anstomotic leakage, and obstruction of the stomach outlet, chronic nutritional problems, and deficiency in vitamins, minerals and proteins.
Take all of these into mind before considering undergoing a gastric bypass. If you are completely decided on having the surgery, make sure that you also go to a good doctor with great expertise on the procedure.
