Complications of Gastric Bypass Surgery
June 20, 2009 by admin
Filed under Bariatric Surgery Financing, Preparing for Gastric Bypass Surgery
If you are considering lap band surgery, it will not be long before you will be thinking about the complications of gastric bypass surgery. Even though this surgery is going to change your life dramatically for the better, it is a surgery and it is not without its risks. You also have to weigh the risks of being obese. Which of the risks is going to be greater, being obese or having the surgery? For me, that was the determining factor in my decision.
The lap band surgery is the least invasive of all the bariatric surgeries, but you still run the chance of bleeding and infection, that can be experienced with any surgery. Band slippage is one of the biggest risks of lap band surgery and can usually be fixed laparoscopically. On rare occasions, the band may erode inside the stomach.
Some other risks that are specifically related to the lap band are:
• The band can spontaneously deflate because of leakage. That leakage can come from the band, the reservoir, or the tubing that connects them.
• The stomach pouch can enlarge.
• The stoma (stomach outlet) can be blocked.
Obesity has a whole set of risks that can and probably will increase over time. You have to decide whether you are willing to risk the complications of gastric bypass surgery or continuing to live with obesity related conditions. You always have the option of losing the weight with nonsurgical methods, but unfortunately many prospective lap band patients have failed at standard weight loss programs.
You do have options. It is a matter of deciding what is important to you and what concessions you are willing to make to get what you want. The important thing to keep in mind is this surgery is not a miracle, it is a tool and it will be up to you to use that tool effectively.