Roux-en-Y Can Double the Risk of Kidney Stones

Tagged: anastomosis, Brian Matlaga M.D., Gastric bypass, kidney stones, Medical Tourism, Roux-en-Y

The rise in obesity has also resulted in the increase in of people undergoing surgical procedures to decrease weight. Gastric bypass works by decreasing the size of the stomach so that it cannot accommodate excessive food intake. The operation also allows food to by-pass part of the small intestine. 

According to a study by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Roux-en-Y, the most common type of gastric bypass operation, may double the risk of kidney stones in patients.  The study conducted by Brian Matlaga, M.D. , an assistant professor of urology at John Hopkins used the insurance claims data of 4,639 patients who had undergone the bariatric procedure from a four-year period, between 2002-2006.  The data from the 4,639 patients who had undergone Roux-en-Y were compared to the data of the same number of patients who had the same characteristics such as age, gender and body mass.

The study revealed that patients who had undergone the bariatric surgery were nearly twice as likely to develop kidney stones as those who didn’t undergo the procedure.  But the results also showed that only 8% of the patients whose data were studied developed kidney stones.

Despite the results of the study, Matlaga says this shouldn’t undermine the benefits of the bariatric surgery, “Our study is not an indictment of bariatric surgery-the benefits of this surgery are well known,” said Matlaga.

Other gastric bypass procedures decrease the absorption of calcium and increase the incidence of kidney stones in patients but it was previously thought that these didn’t happen as a result of the Roux-en-Y procedure.