Gastric band connection tube results in small bowel obstruction: an acute emergency

The laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (LAGB) is a widely performed procedure for the morbid obesity epidemic. Despite its low mortality compared with other mainstream bariatric surgeries, it is not without its complications. The authors report a late and rare complication of a small bowel obstruction in a 52-year-old woman from an LAGB placed for 2 years. She was diagnosed clinically and radiologically with a small bowel obstruction. However, in the setting of an LAGB, this became a closed-loop obstruction. She proceeded to an emergency laparoscopy, which revealed that the port connection tube had formed dense adhesions to the jejunum causing an obstructive band. This is only the fifth reported case in Australia; as bariatric surgery continues to rise, these patients may present unannounced to any emergency department and as such should be treated as a closed-loop obstruction with immediate resuscitative and surgical management instituted.