Anastomotic leakage

An anastomosis is a surgical connection between the stomach and bowel, or between two parts of the bowel. The surgeon attempts to create a watertight connection by connecting the two organs with either staples or sutures, either of which actually makes a hole in the bowel wall. The surgeon will rely on the healing power of the body, and its ability
to create a seal like a self-sealing tire, to succeed with the surgery. If that seal fails to form, for any reason, fluid from within the gastrointestinal tract can leak into the sterile abdominal cavity and give rise to infection and abscess formation. Leakage of an anastomosis can occur in about 2% of gastric bypass procedures, usually at the stomach-bowel
connection. Sometimes leakage can be treated with antibiotics, and sometimes it will require immediate re-operation. It is usually safer to reoperate if an infection cannot be definitely controlled immediately.