Bariatric surgery patients: reasons to visit emergency department after surgery.

Study Objective: Morbid obesity prevalence is reaching epidemic proportions in Western society. Long-term weight loss can be achieved by bariatric surgery. This surgery also has a positive impact in the reduction of obesity related co-morbid conditions. The purpose of this study is to determine the reasons that bariatric surgery patients had to visit the emergency department within a three month period after surgery.

Methods: A retrospective chart review study was performed at the UPR Hospital in Carolina. Patients with the diagnosis of morbid obesity who had bariatric surgery were identified. Of the 283 patients who met the criteria, the following information was obtained: gender, age, height, weight, pre-operative BMI, obesity-related comorbid conditions, post operative length of stay (LOS), and reasons and length of stay of Emergency Department (ED) visits within a 3 month period after surgery. Statistical analysis was done with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Program.

Results: The same profile of gender and BMI was obtained between the population that had the surgery and the sample that visited the ED, the group of patients between 20-29 years old was more likely to visit the ED. No correlation was found between a longer post operative length of stay and an increased probability of visiting the ED. Of the population, 5% had to visit ED within a three month period. The most common post operative complications were: Abdominal Pain (46.2%), Emesis (38.5%), and Dehydration (30.8%). Other less frequent complications were nausea, DVT, pneumonia, dizziness, gastritis, infected wound and upper GI bleeding.

Conclusion: The most common reasons that bariatric surgery patients had to visit the emergency department within a three month period after surgery were: abdominal pain, emesis, dehydration and nausea. These complications could most likely be attributed to patient poor compliance with diet, resulting in the classical symptoms of the dumping syndrome which is common in patients that have undergone bariatric surgery.