Perforated Marginal Ulcer After Gastric Bypass

A common late complication after gastric bypass surgery is marginal ulceration that is defined as ulcers at the margins of the gastrojejunostomy, mostly on the jejunal side. Most marginal ulcers respond to medical therapy and complicated or complex ulcer disease warrants operative intervention; specifically, perforated, penetrated, obstructing, bleeding and intractable marginal ulcers require surgical intervention. Diverse operative strategies for addressing perforated marginal ulcers after gastric bypass have been described including I) Omental (Graham) patch repair, II) Revision of gastrojejunostomy, III) Irrigation and drainage, IV) any previous procedure with truncal vagotomy, V) Esophagojejunostomy, and VI) Reversal. We formally analyze our experience with the laparoscopic resection and repair of acutely perforated marginal ulcers after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), with or without concomitant resolution of technical risk factors for marginal ulceration.