The Possible Risks From Having
Gastric Bypass Surgery
All surgery carries risks and gastric bypass surgery is no different. The most common are:
- Infections arising from the surgery. Antibiotics are routinely given during the operation to reduce the chances of bacterial infections taking hold.
- Damage to internal organs during the surgery. Also the newly created 'joints' where the intestine is rejoined can leak. Both are uncommon (leaking occurs in about 2% of operations) but if this happens further surgery may be needed to correct the problem.
- Deaths can occur during or shortly after the surgery. These are extremely rare and are usually due to an underlying medical condition.
- Rapid weight loss can increase the risk of developing gallstones. These are painful and may mean that your gallbladder will have to be surgically removed.
- It can take several weeks before you can eat solids during which time you may suffer from nausea or vomiting. Even after things settle down you may still be prone to vomiting if you try eating too much at one sitting.
- You may suffer from 'dumping syndrome' after eating sugary foods. Because of the surgery sugar now passes rapidly into the bowel and this can give rise to a rapid heart rate, sweating and a feeling of butterflies in the stomach . This may last for up to an hour and you might have to sit or lie down while recovering. If you're particularly unlucky this may be followed by an attack of diarrhoea. Although it can be quite frightening it's not life-threatening and can be avoided by keeping to your diet and restricting your intake of sugary foods.
- You may have to take nutritional supplements as your reconfigured intestines may not be able to absorb enough nutrients from your diet.
- There is no guarantee that you will lose the weight you want.
However for the vast majority of people the health and day to day benefits of having the surgery and losing weight far outweigh the small risks arising from having a gastric bypass operation.