Two Cases of Bowel Obstruction Following Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass

Matthew Shane, MD; C. Daniel Smith, MD; Leena Khaitan, MD

Product Details
Product ID: ACS-2467
Year Produced: 2006
Length: 9 min.


Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is one of the most commonly performed operations today. Like all operations, complications can result from this procedure. In this video, we will describe two separate patient presentations of bowel obstruction occurring over one year following laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. The first case involves is a 55 year old white man who presented with complaints of intermittent abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. He had undergone a laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass 18 months previously. The details of his diagnosis, as well as the laparoscopic management of the patient, are demonstrated and described. The second case is a 28 year old white female in the second trimester of pregnancy, who also presented with abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. As in the case above, she had undergone a laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass 18 months previously. Her exploration, diagnosis and surgical management are all demonstrated and discussed. Both patients were successfully managed laparoscopically and recovered completely. These two cases demonstrate that laparoscopic exploration and management of bowel obstruction are possible and safely performed after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, even during pregnancy.