Complications from weight loss surgery are frequent. A study of insurance claims of 2522 who had undergone bariatric surgery showed 21.9% complications during the initial hospital stay and a total of 40% risk of complications in the subsequent six months. This was more common in those over 40 and led to increased health care expenditure.
Common problems were gastric dumping syndrome in about 20% (bloatedness and diarrhoea after eating, necessitating small meals or medication), leaks at the surgical site (12%), incisional hernia (7%), infections (6%) and pneumonia (4%). Mortality was 0.2%. As the rate of complications appears to be reduced when the procedure is performed by an experienced surgeon, guidelines recommend that surgery is performed in dedicated or experienced units.
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