Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Terry Dubrow, who plays Dr. Dubrow in the television series “Botched,” talked about bariatric surgery and its potential drawbacks.
The cause of Lisa Marie Presley’s death was revealed earlier this week. The 54-year-old singer-songwriter passed away in January from what an autopsy report describes as the “sequelae of a small bowel obstruction,” which manifested after she had bariatric surgery a few years earlier.
The report claims that the obstruction was a strangulated small bowel brought on by adhesions that developed after her weight-loss surgery. According to Dr. Juan Carrillo, Deputy Medical Examiner, “This is a known long-term complication of this type of surgery.”.
In order to reduce the amount of food a person can eat and absorb, bariatric surgery, which includes gastric bypass and other weight loss procedures, involves surgically altering the digestive system, primarily the stomach and small intestine.
Dr. Board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon Terry Dubrow, the show’s star, talks about the procedure and some potential issues.
The fact that there are various types of bariatric surgery, he says, is a drawback. They range from completely cutting off portions of the intestines, which reduces absorption, to shrinking the size of the stomach, which restricts how much food you can eat. ”.
According to Dubrow, who assumes Presley’s surgeon would have made sure she met those weight requirements, patients must have a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 40 and an underlying medical condition for which obesity is one of the major risk factors.
Like any major procedure, bariatric surgery has potential health risks that could have immediate, long-term, and catastrophic effects.
Malabsorption syndromes, which happen when patients do not absorb the expected levels of vitamins that would be absorbed with a regular diet, are the most frequent side effects of bariatric surgery, according to Dubrow, who is also board certified in general surgery.
You’re not absorbing enough vitamin B12, which results in anemia, and you’re not absorbing enough nutrients, which results in skin conditions. “It’s mostly mechanical,” he continues, highlighting the significance of checking patients’ blood levels before and after surgery.
Another side effect of bariatric surgery is a tiny bowel obstruction, which led to Presley’s demise.
The problem is that when you operate on the stomach itself to reduce the amount you can eat or disconnect a portion of the intestines to limit absorption, you cause scarring in and around the intestines. ”.
He says, “Those are called adhesions.”.
“The most typical complication of that kind of surgery is that when that scarring is in there, it sometimes can catch pieces of the bowel, or it can impair intestinal motility,” says Dubrow. This results in what is known as a small bowel obstruction. About 6% of bariatric surgery cases involve that. ”.
An “uncomfortable kind of bloating” is the first symptom of a minor intestinal obstruction, according to Dubrow. There is severe nausea and vomiting as a result.
Due to the fact that symptoms can mimic an illness or stomach ache, many people who experience this blockage are unaware of the cause.
And this doesn’t always happen right away after the operation, according to Dubrow. This might occur in the next two, five, or ten years. You’re always at risk for an sporadic minor bowel obstruction. ”.
Frequently, a minor bowel obstruction will disappear on its own. However, if it persists to the point where it obstructs the body’s ability to process food, edema may develop and shut off blood flow.
Dubrow explains that when the blood supply to the intestines is interrupted, it can result in small bowel necrosis, which is the death of the intestines. “You might not even be aware that your intestines are dying inside your abdomen while you have a small bowel obstruction, a stomachache, or any other symptoms. If your intestines start to rot enough, it could be fatal. ”.
Additionally, Presley’s autopsy’s toxicology findings showed that oxycodone levels were still present in her blood at the time of death. She received pain medication months earlier after undergoing another cosmetic procedure.
Dubrow believes that the combination of bariatric surgery and painkillers may have created a “perfect storm” of risk factors for small intestinal obstruction, though he is clear that he was not Presley’s physician.
“You frequently take painkillers and narcotics after having plastic surgery. He explains, “They found oxycodone in Lisa Marie, which is commonly used after plastic surgery. Opioid use, however, slows down the digestive system. ”.
This means that taking opioids after recent plastic surgery and having scarring from a previous gastric bypass surgery can predispose you to a small bowel obstruction, he says.
Dubrow advises people who have undergone bariatric surgery to be more aware of any new symptoms and to get help from a doctor right away.
It’s not just a stomachache, ignore it. Do not presume you have the flu. He suggests being extremely concerned that you may be developing or have already developed a small bowel obstruction if you experience nausea, vomiting, bloating, or abdominal pain.
Dubrow advises that you should be more suspicious that there might be a problem. Don’t allow it to linger all day, all night, and the following day. In order to determine whether you have a minor intestinal obstruction, you should visit an urgent care facility and get a straightforward abdominal x-ray. ”.
