Bariatric surgery is an operation with the goal to loose weight. There are different way’s to achieve this goal. A popular type of operation is gastric banding, a more radical type of surgery is sleeve gastrectomy or gastric bypass surgery. the working mechanism for most of these bariatric surgeries is to reduce the stomach and, in the last case, reduce the surface that is available to absorb nutrients. Because of the bariatric surgery complications that can occur and the impact of such a radical operation, bariatric surgery is only meant for people who suffer from severe obesity. In these cases an operation can not only give a reduction in weight, but also have positive effects on weight-related illnesses like diabetes and sleep apnea.

In this article we will discuss the complications that can occur during and after bariatric surgery. During surgery there are the general risks of a big operation. There is always a change for bleeding, collateral damage in surgery or side effects from the anesthesia. After surgery you can distinguish between general complications and complications specific for bariatric surgery. Examples of general complications are infection of the wound, leakage in the operated area and pneumonia during recovery. A complication occurring specific after bariatric surgery is the gastric dumping syndrome. This is a problem caused by food that is bypassing the stomach to quick. The first part of your intestines, the jejunum, expands to soon on reaction of the food. Making the food passing the stomach to quick to let the juices digest the food. This is causing symptoms of trembling, sweating, lightheadedness, nausea, bloating, diarrhea and vomiting. There is a differentiation between early dumping syndrome where the symptoms occur almost directly  till 1 hour after eating, and late dumping syndrome where the symptoms start after 1 to 3 hours after your meal. The late dumping syndrome is associated with hypoglycemia due to insulin release.

Dumping syndrome is seen by almost 20 % of patients after bariatric surgery. To avoid these symptoms it is important to eat small meals spread over the day. The meals should be balanced and low in sugars. It is important to avoid drinking during the meal or at least minimize it to 1 glass. It is best to chew carefully and eat slow. If these lifestyle tips are not sufficient to avoid symtoms, there are several options to slow your digestion with medication. Another late complication of bariatric surgery can be malnutrition because of the lack of nutrions in the small meals or the reduction of absorbing intestines. Your doctor will advice you to take the necessary supplements.

From this can be concluded that bariatric surgery can be a really effective treatment for patients with severe obesity. However, due to the serious bariatric surgery complications it should not be taken lightly.