Mallory-Weiss tear after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

Author: Madan AK, Kuykendall SJ 4th, Ternovits CA, Tichansky DS

Author affiliation: Department of Surgery, Section of Minimally Invasive Surgery, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, 38163, USA. amadan@utmem.edu

Publication date & source: 2005.09, Surg Obes Relat Dis., 1(5):500-2. Epub 2005 Aug 31.

Publication type: Case Reports

In the United States, the most common surgical procedure for morbid obesity is the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Pulmonary embolism, leak, bowel obstruction, and gastrointestinal bleeding are among the potential early fatal complications. Early postoperative bleeding after laparoscopic gastric bypass, although uncommon, presents a dilemma because of the danger of perforation from postoperative endoscopy and the inability to access the gastric remnant easily. We describe a case of a Mallory-Weiss tear causing massive upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage 1 week after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Bariatric surgeons should consider this diagnosis, especially when encountering a patient with a history of significant retching postoperatively.