Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Terry Dubrow, the star of “Botched,” spoke about bariatric surgery and its potential drawbacks.
This week, the cause of death of Lisa Marie Presley was revealed. 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.
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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.”.
Gastric bypass and other weight-loss procedures fall under the category of bariatric surgery, which involves altering the digestive system surgically, primarily the stomach and small intestine, to reduce how much food a person can consume and absorb.
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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 reducing the size of the stomach, which restricts how much food you can eat, to completely cutting off portions of the intestines, which makes you absorb less. “.
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 a connected 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 short-, long-, 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. He emphasizes the significance of checking patients’ blood levels before and after surgery by saying, “It’s mostly mechanical.
One more side effect of bariatric surgery is a tiny bowel obstruction, which is what killed Presley.
The problem is that you cause scarring in and around the intestines when you operate on the stomach itself to limit how much you can eat or disconnect a portion of the intestines to limit absorption when you go inside the abdomen. “.
He clarifies, “Those are referred to as 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, which affects how food moves through the body and results in what’s called a small bowel obstruction,” says Dubrow. “That occurs in about 6% of all bariatric type surgeries. “.
According to Dubrow, minor intestinal obstruction symptoms start with an “uncomfortable kind of bloating.”. Severe nausea and vomiting are the result of this.
Due to the fact that symptoms can mimic an illness or stomach ache, many people who experience this blockage are unaware of the cause.
Furthermore, Dubrow adds, “This doesn’t always happen right away after the operation.”. This might occur in two, five, or ten years. You’re constantly 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 small bowel necrosis, or intestinal death, can result from the interruption of the blood supply to the intestines. “You might be unaware that your intestines are dying inside your abdomen while you’re walking around with a stomachache, a small bowel obstruction, and other symptoms. If your intestines start to rot enough, it could be fatal. “.
Presley’s toxicology report from her autopsy also showed that oxycodone levels were still present in her blood when she passed away. She received pain medication after undergoing another cosmetic procedure months earlier.
Dubrow believes that the combination of bariatric surgery and painkillers may have created a “perfect storm” of risk factors for small intestinal obstruction, although he is clear that he was not Presley’s physician.
“When having plastic surgery, you frequently take narcotics and painkillers. He explains, “They found oxycodone in Lisa Marie, which is frequently used after plastic surgery. But using opioids slows down the digestive system. “.
So, he continues, “if you have a history of gastric bypass surgery with scarring and you take opioids from recent plastic surgery, that can predispose you to a small bowel obstruction.
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.
“Don’t simply brush it off as a stomachache. Don’t assume 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 asserts that “you need to have a higher index of suspicion that this could be a problem.”. Don’t allow it to linger all day, all night, and the following day. To check for a minor intestinal obstruction, you should visit an urgent care facility and get a straightforward abdominal x-ray. “.
