Losing weight is hard. Many people yo-yo diet for decades, ending up heavier than when they began. In their search for help, many of these people seek gastric bypass surgery.
This surgery carries risks, like all surgery. A surgeon who lacks skill can make a mistake that causes pain and possibly requires a second corrective surgery. Other surgeons neglect patients after the operation and fail to note complications.
At Dolan Dobrinsky Rosenblum Bluestein, our Miami medical malpractice lawyers are here to help you get compensation after a botched bypass. Contact us today.
What is a Gastric Bypass?
This is an umbrella term that describes several different types of surgeries. All of them share a basic similarity. The surgeon staples or reroutes the stomach so that a person loses weight. Often, the surgery causes a person to feel full much faster than they otherwise would. If they continue eating, they will feel intense pain.
The surgery also causes food to bypass parts of the small intestines so that it is not absorbed. This malabsorption reduces the number of calories a person consumes. The two most common gastric bypass surgeries are:
- Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, called “RGB.” This is the most common in the United States and entails creating a smaller stomach pouch with bands or staples. A portion of the small intestine is then connected to the stomach, so food bypasses the duodenum. Surgeons can perform an RGB using a thin telescope, which aids in recovery.
- Biliopancreatic diversion. This is a more complicated version that removes the lower stomach, decreasing the size.
Medical Errors
As you can imagine, surgeons can make many errors if they are not using sufficient care or lack the necessary training. These errors can lead to excessive bleeding, tissue death, and internal scarring. Improper banding or stapling could also fail, requiring a second surgery.
A gastric bypass is inherently uncomfortable—that’s how it works. Shrinking the stomach should make a person feel sick if they eat too much, which should reduce food intake. But pain unrelated to eating might be a sign of a surgical error.
Like other surgeries, gastric bypass brings with it certain complications, such as risk of infection and failure to address elevated or crashing blood pressure. If a patient is put under general anesthesia, then they could suffer other problems when anesthesia is administered improperly.
Contact Us to Review Your Case
Many patients by negligent surgeons have no idea what is wrong. Please call our law firm today if you would like to discuss your case, 305-371-2692. We might need to investigate to uncover if a mistake was made in the operating theater.