High-Frequency of Computer Tomography and Surgery for Abdominal Pain After Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass

Acute, intermittent, and chronic abdominal pain is a common complaint after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB).

The aim of the study was to evaluate the use of medical imaging and the need for surgery treating abdominal pain after RYGB in a cohort with long-term follow-up.

Data from 569 patients who underwent RYGB as the primary bariatric procedure at a public hospital in Norway between April 2004 and June 2011 were prospectively registered in a local quality registry for bariatric surgery. All abdominal imaging and abdominal surgical procedures were registered until August 2017.

Mean follow-up was 100 months (61-159). During the observation period, 22% had one CT, 9% had two CTs, 4% had three CTs, and 5% had four or more CTs for abdominal pain. Twenty-two percent underwent abdominal surgery, as 16% had one and 6% had two or more operations and gynecological procedures excluded. The purpose of operation was postoperative complications (1.4%), suspected internal herniation (9.3%), cholecystectomy (9.3%), appendectomy (2.3%), hernias (3.2%), and perforated ulcer in the gastrojejunal anastomosis (0.7%). Mean time interval was 42 ± 27 months from RYGB to cholecystectomy and 51 ± 26 months for suspected IH.

With a mean follow-up period of more than 8 years after RYGB, 40% of the patients suffered from abdominal pain, needing one or more CT scans. The need for surgery treating suspected internal hernia and cholecystectomy was equal, at 9.3% for both procedures, but the mean time from RYGB to operation was shorter for cholecystectomies.