The impact of small bowel resection on the incidence of stomal stenosis and marginal ulcer after gastric bypass

Background: Stomal stenosis (SS) and marginal ulcer (MU) are reported to occur in 9-20% and 2-13%, respectively, of patients undergoing gastric. bypass for morbid obesity. It is hypothesized that tension on the gastrojejunostomy by limited small bowel resection (SBR) would decrease ischemia, thereby decreasing the likelihood of SS and MU. Methods: A retrospective review of 150 consecutive gastric bypass patients operated by one surgeon from 1993 to 1996 was performed. The incidence of SS and MU was compared in patients with and without SBR. Results: The overall rate of SS was 24.0% and that of MU was 9.3%: the incidence of both was 2.0%. The incidence of SS in patients without SBR was 26.9% and with SBR was 19.6%. The incidence of MU in patients without SBR was 8.9% and with SBR was 9.8%. Neither result was statistically significant by Fisher's exact test. Conclusion: There is a trend towards a decrease in the incidence of SS in gastric bypass patients with concomitant SBR although this did not reach clinical significance.