Management of rare complications in obese patients after laparoscopic gastric bypass

Abstract

The complications resulting from laparoscopic gastric bypass can be categorised into two main groups: early (within 30 days after surgery) and late (after 30 days following surgery). Bleeding, marginal ulcers, and failure of the suture line occur most often. Stenosis of the anastomotic areas, adhesive small bowel obstruction, incarceration of Petersen’s space hernia, gastrogastric fistula, and hemobezoar‑induced small bowel obstruction are less often observed.

Objective —  to improve the management of rare complications in obese patients after laparoscopic gastric bypass.

Materials and methods. The study includes a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent laparoscopic gastric bypass in the Department of General Surgery No. 2 at Bogomolets National Medical University from 2011 to 2023. Patients aged 25 to 59 who met the IFSO criteria for obesity participated in the research. The minimum observation period was 12 months. All patients underwent a laparoscopic Roux‑en‑Y Gastric Bypass.

Results. The study included a cohort of 348 patients who underwent laparoscopic gastric bypass. The majority of them were female, including 189 individuals (54.3%). A total of 6 patients (1.72%) were identified with rare problems, consisting of 2 women and 4 men. Two patients were diagnosed with acute small bowel obstruction caused by a hemobezoar, one patient with gastrogastric fistula, one patient with acute adhesive small bowel obstruction, one patient with a marginal ulcer of the «large» stomach complicated by perforation, and one patient with a pinched Petersen’s space hernia. All complications were class IIIb, according to the Clavien‑Dindo classification, and required surgical treatment. In the early period, 3 (50%) cases were diagnosed: acute adhesive small bowel obstruction (2 days postoperatively ) and acute small bowel obstruction caused by a hemobezoar (2—3 days postoperatively).

Conclusions. We found that the incidence of rare complications among obese individuals after laparoscopic gastric bypass was 1.72%. Specifically, 1.14% of patients experienced small bowel obstruction, 0.29% had a marginal ulcer of the «large» stomach complicated by perforation, and 0.29% had a pinched Petersen’s space hernia. Each case of a rare complication requires an individual approach to its management.