--What Are the Most Common Complications of Bariat

What Are the Most Common Complications of Bariatric Surgery?

A hernia can sometimes occur in patients who have undergone particularly invasive surgeries. This has to be repaired, so another procedure will be required before the patient can return home happy and healthy.

Incision infections may sometimes appear if a patient is prone to infection. This mainly appears when the surgery is especially invasive, such as during an open surgery during a gastric bypass. Incision infections can be avoided by opting for minimally invasive surgeries like laparoscopy.

Patients also have a risk of developing blood clots in their legs during the postoperative stage of the procedure. This is due to the patient's legs being immobilized for long periods of time. But this can be averted by promoting blood flow throughout the leg muscles by walking or moving the muscles while the patient is in bed.

Short-term Complications

Long-term Complications

However, it should be noted that studies carried out on the complications involved in bariatric surgery have demonstrated that older patients are more likely to die from complications, even though they are at no greater risk of developing these complications in the first place. This was shown in a study entitled Male Gender is a Predictor of Morbidity and Age a Predictor of Mortality for Patients Undergoing Gastric Bypass Surgery by Edward Livingston, MD, and his team in Los Angeles, which came to the conclusion that: "Older patients had the same complication rate but a threefold higher mortality, suggesting that they lack the reserve to recover from complications when they occur."

Dehydration can occur in patients who have experienced bariatric surgery. Dehydration is caused due to the fact that a smaller stomach means that large amounts of liquids can no longer be absorbed by the body. In this situation, the patient should avoid going outside on hot days during the recovery process.

Bariatric surgery is often used to help increase the quality of life of patients who are extremely overweight. But, just like with any type of surgery, there are a number of possible complications which can arise from bariatric surgery. Some of these complications may occur in the short-term, but other complications may not appear until much later.

There is a greater risk of pneumonia immediately after bariatric surgery due to the increased pressure on the chest and lungs. This pressure is caused by the surgery itself, but there should be no risk of pneumonia after the patient has recovered from their surgery.

Patients may find that a number of illnesses occur as a result of various vitamin deficiencies. Since the stomach is so small, it's impossible to absorb the same amount of essential vitamins. But a follow-up visit to one's physician will solve this problem because they will be able to successfully deduce which vitamin supplements need to be taken.