Bariatric Revision Surgery – What Are the Main Reasons ?
If you have undergone bariatric surgery for weight loss and still haven’t met your weight loss goals or are experiencing any post-surgical complications, we can help. Dr. Venugopal Pareek, one of the best bariatric surgeons in Hyderabad, is highly experienced in revision bariatric procedures and can help you fix or improve previous weight loss surgery.
Generally, bariatric surgery offers promising outcomes for those who are dealing with excess weight or obesity, especially for people who have failed to lose weight with other weight-loss methods. Patients who are severely obese (BMI of 35 or higher) are more suitable for this procedure, which involves limiting the amount of food consumption by altering the anatomy of their stomachs. With, gastric sleeve surgery or any other bariatric surgery, they limit the absorption of nutrients from the food you consume after surgery, producing incredible outcomes regarding weight loss.
Apart from that, people with a BMI between 30 and 35 who have obesity-related health conditions such as hypertension, sleep apnea, and type 2 diabetes can also benefit from bariatric surgery.
What is bariatric surgery?
Bariatric surgery is a weight-loss procedure designed specifically for people who want to lose excess weight. There are different types of bariatric surgeries, while gastric bypass and other types of surgeries—also known as metabolic surgeries—involve making changes to the digestive system so that patients lose excess weight.
What does revision bariatric surgery mean?
A revision bariatric surgery means performing another procedure to correct or improve the previous bariatric surgery.
Bariatric surgery is a highly successful procedure in most cases. It helps to lose weight, and people can maintain a new, healthier lifestyle after surgery. However, in some rare cases, patients may find that the procedure is no longer effective due to a variety of factors. In such cases, revision bariatric surgery can help.
When do I need revision bariatric surgery?
The primary reasons for revision surgery are losing less-than-optimal weight or weight gain or experiencing complications from the original procedure, such as ulcers, enlargement of the pouch, or the lap band loosening.
Some other common reasons for revision surgery include:
- Too much weight loss
- Ruptured or displaced gastric bands
- Displaced gastric band ports
- Disrupted staples
- GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease)
- Swallowing problems
Symptoms like dumping syndrome, glucose issues, nausea, vomiting, reflux, etc. might also need revision surgery in some cases.
Our human body is exceptional at adapting to changes. For example, in a gastric procedure, the pouch may become enlarged years after surgery. The gastric pouch can be stretched for two reasons; one is the natural attempt of your body to adapt to the new changes in your digestive system, and the other is the result of over-eating.
Patients who have had gastric bypass surgery should maintain a strict diet plan, taking small portions of meals. If anyone fails to stick to this diet plan after surgery, they will end up eating more food than their stomach can handle. In the long run, eating more food repeatedly results in stretching of the gastric pouch.
Once the gastric pouch starts to stretch, the restrictive effect of the surgery will fail. Do not rely on the feeling of fullness; if you do so, you may begin to eat more and more food over time as your stomach stretches. Eventually, you may regain weight, which makes you feel devastated because you have invested a lot of time and money and even changed your diet and lifestyle to lose excess weight.
Bariatric Revision Surgery Options
Almost all types of bariatric surgeries have revision interventions. Here are some of the frequent revision procedures performed to fix failed bariatric procedures.
Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Revision
Originally, the procedure involved creating a gastric pouch, which may become larger over time. Revision of this surgery involves expanding intestinal bypass or decreasing the size of the pouch and stomach.
The weight loss goal of Gastric bypass is to lose more than 50% of their excess weight, while some patients lose 60-80% of their excess weight. The revision rate for this procedure is 4.9%.
Gastric Sleeve Revision
There are multiple options available for revision gastric sleeve surgery, and the right option depends on the complication that occurred. The options include:
- Converting the gastric sleeve into a gastric bypass
- Changing the gastric sleeve to a duodenal switch
- Recreating the gastric sleeve
- Adding a gastric band
The weight loss goal of sleeve surgery is to lose more than 50% of excess weight within the first 3-5 years, and the revision rate is 9.8%.
Gastric Band Removal
In rare instances, gastric bands might cause complications that affect your health. However, the band can be removed, and it can be converted into a gastric bypass or gastric sleeve.
The weight loss goal of the lap band is to lose 40-50% of excess weight, and the revision rate is 5.7%, which may be as high as 26%.
Revisional bariatric surgeries are often more complex compared to initial procedures. However, for any post-surgical bariatric complications, you can consult Dr. Venugopal Pareek, a skilled surgeon who has more than 17 years of experience performing gastric bypass revisions and gastric sleeve revisions. He has a team of experts who can carefully evaluate your problem and figure out what went wrong with your previous procedure. So that you can choose the most appropriate revision procedure to achieve the best possible results.
A second weight loss surgery might be unfortunate, but if you are looking for the best treatment options regarding revision bariatric surgery in Hyderabad, feel free to contact us at
