paisleyhansen
Dangers Of Getting A Gastric Sleeve
Oct 12, 2018
The gastric sleeve bypass, or sleeve gastrectomy is the most popular type of bariatric surgery in the United States. It is used to treat very obese people who struggle to lose their excess weight through dieting, exercise or another non-surgical weight loss system.
During the surgery, the surgeon cuts the stomach in two unequal parts. The functional part of the stomach looks like a sleeve while the rest of the stomach is removed. This reduces the amount the stomach can hold by about 75 percent. Because the stomach has been so drastically reduced, weight loss is rapid. In many cases there's also a resolution of comorbidities such as diabetes, but doctors don't know why this is. A gastric sleeve bypass cannot be reversed.
Sleeve gastrectomy is major abdominal surgery, and like all such surgeries, it has risks. If there are complications from the surgery, many of them appear in the first week after the operation. If a patient notices any of them, they should contact their doctor right away. Here are some of the complications of the operation:
Bleeding
This is not the bleeding that might ooze briefly from the surgical wound but bleeding from the incisions where the patient’s stomach has been resected. This is bleeding that the patient won’t see, but they will have symptoms. They’ll become dizzy when they stand up, have shortness of breath and tachycardia. They will be pale or ashen and have little or no urine output. They will eventually notice that there is blood in their stool, which appears within a day or two of the operation.
Blood Clots
Clots are rare, but they are dangerous. If they develop in a blood vessel, they can break off and cause a pulmonary embolism. This is a blood clot that is lodged in the lung. Blood clots are prevented by giving the patient blood thinners before their surgery and fitting their legs with compression garments during surgery. But the best way to avoid clots is to make sure the patient leaves the bed soon after the surgery and walks around, even if they do not feel like it.
Infection
If the surgical wound becomes infected, it will happen about a week after the operation. It will become warm, red and the skin around it will become puffy. Sometimes it will leak pus, and the patient will be feverish. Some redness and swelling is normal after surgery, and if the patient is not feverish and the wound is not pustulant it should go away after a few days. If the wound is infected, it will need to be opened up and drained, and the patient will be put on a course of antibiotics.
Leaking Stomach
Though bleeding and clots are serious, a leaking stomach can be life threatening. This happens when staples in the sleeve do not hold and digestive juices leak into the patient’s abdominal cavity. Because these juices are meant to digest foods, they will start to digest what is in the abdominal cavity. This can lead to an infection that culminates in blood poisoning and septic shock. Septic shock can result in the organs of the body shutting down. Symptoms are a fast, weak pulse; confusion; great anxiety; cold, moist, pale skin;shortness of breath; no urination; crashing blood pressure; fainting and cyanotic lips and nails. Some patients with leaking stomachs have few of these symptoms or the symptoms can be from another reason.
If the surgeon does determine or even suspect that the patient’s stomach is leaking, the patient simply needs to return to the operating room, and the leak must be repaired. This requires open surgery which will require the patient to spend even more time in the hospital, often in intensive care. The only good thing about a leaking stomach is that it is rare.
Conclusion
All complications from gastric sleeve surgery are somewhat rare and can be successfully treated if they are seen to in time. Though bariatric surgery does require a change in lifestyle and eating habits, most patients are pleased to lose weight and to lose the health consequences that come with being obese.