It is commonly thought that pregnancy after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) could be problematic, but the scientific evidence suggests quite the opposite. Women who lose weight following LRYGB have a much greater likelihood of becoming pregnant and have much less in the way of obstetric complications than obese women without surgery.
A recently published study by Patel et al 1 showed that pregnancy after LRYGB is safe, with an incidence of perinatal complications similar to that of non-obese patients, and lower than that of obese and severely obese patients, who had not undergone LRYGB.
Another study involving 2,423 patients who had undergone gastric bypass surgery between 2001 and 2004. Pregnancy outcomes within the first year after weight-loss surgery revealed no significant episodes of malnutrition, adverse fetal outcomes, or pregnancy complications2. The authors conclude that women can be reassured about the outcomes of pregnancy following gastric bypass.
So, if patients enquire about pregnancy following bypass, you can strongly reassure them!
References
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Patel JA, Patel NA, Thomas RL, Nelms JK, Colella JJ. Pregnancy outcomes after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Surg Obes Relat Dis. 2008; 4:39-45
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Dao T, Kuhn J, Ehmer D, Fisher T, McCarty T. Pregnancy outcomes after gastric-bypass surgery. Am J Surg. 2006;192:762-6
