Bariatric Surgery Complications

Those who are seriously obese and cannot reduce weight through normal measures, may have to undergo a weight loss surgery as a last resort, because nothing else is working. If they keep going like that, serious health issues can crop up like heart problems, because the sheer weight will create a lot of pressure on the heart. Coming back then to the weight loss surgery, in medical terms, it is known as bariatric surgery. It is apparently useful for weight loss and overall improvement in health. This surgery is recommended for people having a body mass index of 40. or in some cases, it can be 35 accompanied by serious medical conditions like diabetes. However, as beneficial it might be, like any other surgical procedure, it has it drawbacks, which we will take stock of, in the text to come.

Procedure of Bariatric Surgery
This procedure involves decreasing the size of the patient's stomach with the help of an implanted medical device or by removing a portion of the stomach or by resecting and re routing the small intestines to a stomach pouch. It is thus, a fairly invasive procedure and subsequently if you are informed and well acquainted with the complications of weight loss surgery, may be you can prepare better for things to come. There are 3 categories of procedures involved in this surgery - Predominantly malabsorptive procedures, predominantly restrictive procedures and mixed procedures. After this brief explanation about what is this surgery all about, let's take a look at the possible risks and complications of this surgery.

Long Term Complications
A plausible as well as possible risk and complication of gastric bypass surgery is the development of an ulcer, where the small intestine is joined to the upper part of the stomach. There are chances that people who take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory or pain killers like aspirin, can experience this problem. Another complication is hernia or a marked weakness in the incision. A rare consequence is narrowing or in medical terms stricture of the opening between the stomach and intestine. This will lead to another surgery to correct it. NIPHS (non-insulinoma pancreatogenous hypoglycemia syndrome) or post-bariatric surgery, hypoglycemia has also been found to occur rarely. Furthermore, after this surgery the body may not absorb some vitamins and minerals. It can create more problems like anemia due to deficiency of iron or vitamin B12, neurological complications as a result of vitamin B12 deficiency and kidney stone because of changes in how the body absorbs calcium and oxalate. To top it all bone disorders may occur post surgery as a result of mineral or vitamin D deficiency. Dehydration too is another complication of this surgery.

Surgical Complications
These are the risks and complications which occur during the surgery itself. Reactions to anesthesia, breathing problem, blood clots, (which may travel till the brain) blood loss, harm to other organs near the site of the surgery and even death are some of the other risks involved.

Other Complications
No physical disorder comes without psychological implications and bariatric surgery is no exception. Such a surgery is emotionally weighing, especially when you cannot eat as much as you want to while others have their plates full, initially. People may also react in a strange way to your losing weight. It could have either a positive or negative impact on your mindset, depending on what the reaction was.

In addition to all these, immediately after the surgery, the individual may experience body ache, fatigue, cold, dry skin, hair thinning and loss, mood alterations which may sometimes even cause relationship issues.

If you think you may not be able to deal with the consequences, especially, psychological and emotional, you can always take help of support groups, please do not hesitate!