Chapter 8 Abdominal Emergencies in Bariatric Patients

Obesity is increasing in global prevalence and has a significant impact on individual health as well as on health care systems. A number of surgical procedures have been developed in recent years and are increasing in popularity to treat a subset of obese patients. Commonly performed procedures include Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. As with any surgical intervention, there are a number of common and uncommon complications associated with these procedures. Patients are quite often assessed in the emergency setting after bariatric surgery due to complications of surgery. The radiologist plays an integral role in identifying and diagnosing the common and uncommon complications, which directly influences management. Modalities such as fluoroscopy and computed tomography (CT) are most commonly used for investigating patients with suspected complications. This chapter will review the normal imaging appearance of several of these surgical interventions and review the common and uncommon complications, with a focus on CT imaging.