Endoscopic Evaluation of Symptomatic Patients following Bariatric Surgery: A Literature Review.

Abstract

Obesity is an epidemic in our society, and rates continue to rise, along with comorbid conditions associated with obesity. Unfortunately, obesity remains refractory to behavioral and drug therapy but has shown response to bariatric surgery. Not only can long-term weight loss be achieved, but a majority of patients have also shown improvement of the comorbid conditions associated with obesity. A rise in the use of surgical therapy for management of obesity presents a challenge with an increased number of patients with problems after bariatric surgery. It is important to be familiar with symptoms following bariatric surgery, such as nausea/vomiting, abdominal pain, dysphagia, and upper gastrointestinal bleeding and to utilize appropriate available tests for upper gastrointestinal tract pathology in the postoperative period.