Man is Killed by Undetected Hernia Following Gastric Bypass Surgery

Case Overview

This case involves the death of a middle-aged man who had recently undergone gastric bypass surgery from an internal hernia. The man had called the office of his gastric surgeon and reported a severe constipation problem. Despite his serious complaints, he was never referred to the ER. A few days later, he presented to the ER where he was found to be tachycardic and hypotensive. A CT Scan showed bowel ischemia, and a plan was made to operate on the patient when he was stabilized. Over the next several hours the patient continued to deteriorate, and the decision was made to operate emergently, however the patient died before surgery could be performed. An autopsy reported that the cause of death was a gangrenous internal hernia.

Questions to the General Surgery expert and their responses

Do you routinely treat patients like the one described above?

As a fellowship-trained bariatric surgeon, I commonly perform operations similar to the one described.

How long have you been practicing in this capacity?

I have published on bariatrics and critical care.

About the expert

This expert has over 10 years of experience in general, minimally invasive, and bariatric surgery. He earned his BS in biology and his MD from the University of California, Davis. He then completed a residency in general surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, and a prestigious fellowship in minimally invasive and bariatric surgery at Johns Hopkins University. Today, this expert is board certified in general surgery and is a member of numerous professional organizations, including America's Hernia Society, the Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons. He is also very active in academia, where his research interests include clinical outcomes in hernia surgery, critical care medicine, bariatric surgery, and metabolic syndrome. This expert previously served as an assistant professor of surgery and biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Currently, he is an associate professor of surgery and biomedical engineering at a top-tier university, the director of the comprehensive hernia center, the director of perioperative medical device safety, and an attending surgeon at a top university-affiliated medical center, as well as the associate medical director of a top university-affiliated bioengineering, innovation, and design center in Maryland.

E-001161

Specialties:

General Surgery