What are common reasons for revision obesity surgery?

The most common reason patients seek obesity surgery revisions is to convert an older weight loss procedure to a more modern and effective procedure such as the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or duodenal switch (also known as bilio-pancreatic diversion with duodenal switch or DS).

In the case of "stomach stapling" (also known as vertical banded gastroplasty or VBG), the procedure has been found to have failed in over 50% of patients, resulting in inadequate weight loss. Because of staple erosion, more recent stomach stapling operations have caused chronic inflammation, infection, and ulcers. This is one of the main reasons many surgeons use absorbable sutures rather than staples to perform intestinal attachments to the stomach.

A patient's original gastric bypass may become ineffective when the small pouch and opening to the intestine doctors created stretches to allow more food into the intestine, leading to weight gain. This stretching of the tissue may be due either to a patient's overeating or from the healed tissue naturally stretching.