Meet The Surgeon

What are the major complications of a Gastric Bypass?

The most serious complications tend to occur early on, in the first week or so after surgery when the staple lines and join ups are healing. Bleeding and staple line leaks are the main ones to watch out for. Fortunately both are extremely uncommon in patients treated by Phoenix Health.

Bleeding tends to occur very early on (first 24 hours). Phoenix surgeons have developed a novel protocol administering simple medications for 24 hours post-op that has hugely reduced the risk of post-op bleeding.

Leaks can occur at any time during the first week (and rarely even a little later). If they are treated promptly, most patients bounce back quickly. However, if a leak is missed and presents late on, patients can become extremely ill and even die from the resulting sepsis. Phoenix Health surgeons use a combination of intra-operative leak tests, very careful clinical observations and serial blood tests on day 1 and day 2 to minimise the risk that we might discharge a patient with a mild, sub-clinical leak. We do not believe in the policy of rushing you out of hospital and discharging sleeve and bypass patients after 24 hours that some bariatric units adopt. We would rather spend a bit more time and money so that we can be as sure as possible that you have no evidence of a grumbling serious complication that might put you at risk after discharge.