Bariatric Surgery: Risks, Complications, Side-Effects, and Precautions

Any surgical procedure which involves the doctor operating on the stomach or the surrounding intestinal areas with an end goal to help the patient lose weight is known as Bariatric Surgery. While all surgical interventions come with their set of risks, complications and side effects, it is still important to know both the short-term and long-term bariatric surgery risks. 

Although the side-effects mostly vary from one patient to another based on their health conditions, some of the most commonly-observed bariatric surgery risks involve:

Short-term: 

- Anaesthetic Risks 

- Reflux of acid 

- Vomiting and nausea

- Dilation of esophagus 

- Obstruction in the stomach 

- Selective eating

- Weight gain  

Long-Term:  - Dumping, a syndrome that can lead to conditions such as nausea

- Lowered levels of sugar in the blood 

- Malnutrition 

- Ulcers 

- Vomiting 

- Hernia 

While these are certainly the most commonly observed signs and symptoms for any side-effects arising out of a recent bariatric surgery you have had, whenever you avail bariatric surgery in India a doctor would take you through the implications of the surgery, procedure by procedure, which, in turn, also affects the bariatric surgery success rate to a large extent. 

So, here’s a classified list of some of the most often occurring complications categorized as per the different procedures employed: 

Complications after a Gastric Bypass or a Gastric Sleeve: 

- Dumping syndrome 

- Hernia 

- Breakage 

- Gallstones 

- Bleeding in the surgical wound

- Perforations in the intestines or the operated area 

- Leakage 

- Separation of the skin 

- Stricture 

- Ulceration in the stomach / intestines 

- Organ damage or spleen 

- Cardiac ailments / pulmonary abnormalities 

- Deficit of iron / vitamin

All said and done, one can still follow the below few healthy routines to avoid these complications and also speed up their bariatric surgery recovery rates.  - Reduction in Body Mass Index (BMI)

- Increasing the duration of exercise

- Quitting smoking