What are the risks of gastric bypass surgery?
As is true with any operation, there are complications associated with gastric bypass surgery. One of the most serious is leakage where the stomach pouch meets the small intestine. With no treatment, approximately one in four gastric bypass patients will develop gallstones following surgery. That is why a bile thinning medication is prescribed after surgery. Some other complications include abdominal hernia, wound infection, and bowel obstruction. There is also the possibility of lung-related conditions, such as pulmonary embolism, and additional stress on the cardiac system; for these reasons, the patients are closely monitored during the post-surgical hospital stay. In very rare situations, a patient may even die as a result of the surgery or one of its complications.
