Stenosis and ulceration after bariatric surgery

Abstract

The increasing number of morbidly obese patients leads to a rising number of bariatric procedures in Germany. The operative techniques are highly standardized but such a standardization is lacking for the management of postoperative complications such as stenosis and ulceration after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery and sleeve gastrectomy (SG). The current literature is reviewed and a complication management is developed and presented in this article. Postoperative stenoses occure with a frequency of 0.1-3.9% after SG and 3-27% after RYGB. Stenosis is secondary to inadequate surgical technique or microinsufficiency. Ulcers can be due to reaction to foreign body, local ischemia, peptic lesion, fistula and microinsufficiency. Endoscopic interventions are successful in most cases for stenosis after RYGB and for short stenoses after SG. After SG long stenoses require redo surgery and conversion to RYGB. Ulcers can be managed by medication with the exception of perforation and hemorrhage, which require emergency laparoscopy.