Raul N. Uppot, M.D., an assistant radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and instructor of radiology at Harvard Medical School in Boston conducted an eight year retrospective study in which they found that some gastric bypass patients who required diagnostic imaging could not be accommodated because of their size.
The study found that 27 percent of patients who weighed more than 450 pounds and needed imaging to diagnose a problem after surgery were unable to get it because their weight exceeded conventional diagnostic imaging equipment limits.
"When patients weigh more than 450 pounds, standard diagnostic imaging often cannot be used," said Uppot. "In these cases, physicians must resort to other means of diagnosis such as exploratory surgery or using less accurate or more invasive techniques." Uppot also noted that the obesity trend cannot be ignored. "Unless major changes are made to the American diet or exercise habits, this is a problem that we will have to address," he said. "When an obese person is
contemplating gastric bypass surgery, he or she should consider that they will need follow- up imaging but may not be able to get the appropriate tests."
Obesity has increased dramatically in the last 20 years as has the number of gastric bypass procedures performed. The most common complications of gastric bypass surgery are suture tears and leaks, pulmonary embolism, pneumonia and infection. Without diagnostic imaging, doctors are often required to assume as to the problem and correct it surgically which could result in unrequired surgeries on patients that are already high risk.
[Source: PRNewsWire]
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