Bowel obstruction is increasingly recognized as an important complication after gastric bypass. This study analyzed late bowel obstruction after open and laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery.

The medical records of 1,378 patients who had proximal gastric bypass during the years 2002 and 2003 at a large bariatric center were evaluated for readmission with bowel obstruction requiring operations. In the study group, 697 patients underwent a laparoscopic approach and 735 had an open approach to gastric bypass. Patients had a minimum followup of 18months.

In the laparoscopic group, 68 of the 697 patients were readmitted for bowel obstruction requiring operations, for an incidence of 9.7%. There were 14 additional recurrent obstructions, for a total of 82 operations. Of the 68 patients requiring reoperations, 3 (4.4%) required bowel resection and 8 (11.7%) had conversion to an open approach. Bowel resections were performed in two of the three patients with a second episode of bowel obstruction. The average time intervals between the primary operation in 2002 and 2003 and the first episode of obstruction were 511 and 385 days, respectively. There were no readmissions requiring operations for late bowel obstruction in the open gastric bypass group.

We found an unanticipated high incidence of bowel obstruction after laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery. There were no hospital admissions for bowel obstruction requiring operations in the open gastric bypass group. Lack of adhesions and the resulting free displacement of small bowel after laparoscopy appear to be the cause of this complication. Open gastric bypass surgery produces thin, diffuse upper abdominal adhesions that may then stabilize the bowel and prevent internal hernias and bowel obstruction. An open approach may be a reasonable option for management of recurrent episodes of bowel obstruction after laparoscopy.