Bariatric Surgery Risks

Each surgery has its own benefits and risks. Undergoing weight loss surgery is a serious decision. Awareness of the surgery and its consequences is important before taking a decision. Other factors to consider include the patient’s BMI, eating habits, health conditions related to obesity, and previous stomach surgeries.

Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) has been performed for morbid obesity in the past 10 years. LSG was originally intended as a first-stage procedure in high-risk patients but has become a stand-alone operation for many bariatric surgeons.

The 3rd International summit on LSG in 2009, concluded that the weight loss and improvement in diabetes appear to be better than with laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding and on par with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. High leaks are infrequent but problematic 10.

10 Third International Summit: current status of sleeve gastrectomy. Mervyn Deitel, Michel Gagner, Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases 7 (2011) 749–759

LSG is an accepted bariatric procedure that can be used for many different patient populations. It has been effectively used as part of a staged risk-management strategy for high-risk patients and has gained popularity as a primary bariatric procedure. The evidence supporting the safety and efficacy of SG continues to increase and long-term data are emerging that report excess weight loss greater than 50%. A second stage gastric bypass or duodenal switch promotes further weight loss in selected patients with weight regain or inadequate weight loss after LSG. Attractive features of LSG are rapid weight loss, comorbidity reduction, and avoidance of long-term complications of bypass procedures or implantable devices.

Concerns remain regarding the risks of leak after LSG, the long-term incidence of GERD symptoms, and weight loss durability beyond 5 years. Management of leaks after LSG is a formidable challenge for the bariatric surgeon, and early diagnosis followed by a multidisciplinary treatment strategy is key. The precise mechanism of sustained weight loss and diabetes remission after SG is unclear, but early evidence suggests that this is a metabolic procedure that affects nutrient transit, gut hormones, and the enteroinsular axis in a favorable way 11.

11 Stacy A. Brethauer, Sleeve Gastrectomy. Surg Clin N Am 91 (2011) 1265–1279

Bariatric surgery requires a multi-disciplinary approach because an obese person often has some other health complication. Moreover, a surgery on an extremely heavy person requires a different setup of large operating tables and instruments and special expertise. Nova Specialty Surgery centers has the infrastructure and the experts to conduct bariatric surgeries.