Obesity and Complications of Bariatric Interventions: Interview with dr. Viorel Dejeu

Obesity is a serious disease, even though some patients try to live with it and deny the numerous health risks and complications associated with it. The reality is that, besides the esthetic part, which everybody observes, it also causes numerous health problems such as diabetes, hypertension and sleep apnea. Dr. Viorel Dejeu, co-founder of the Doctor Dejeu clinic and an internationally accredited bariatric surgeon, points out that patients who choose to have surgery already come with a fragile body. Bariatric surgery, while not without risks, offers a lower chance of long-term complications than untreated obesity.

Dr. Viorel Dejeu explains the most common complications after bariatric surgery:

– Bleeding: can occur in the first hours post-op, but is relatively easy to manage and does not prolong recovery much.

– Fistula: A scarring defect in the stomach, with a frequency between 1-4%. At Dr. Dejeu’s team, it occurs rarely, about 1 patient in 1000.

– Thrombosis/emboli: The formation of blood clots, prevented by taking anticoagulants for three weeks post-operatively. Risk less than 1 in 1000.

– Strictures: Excessive narrowing of the stomach during scarring, treatable by bypass or endoscopic dilatation. Risk less than 1 in a thousand.

Dr. Viorel Dejeu says that “Patients leave the hospital informed about what to look out for. Any problem has a solution as long as it is identified and treated in time. Of course, nobody wants to have a complication – neither the patients nor the surgeon. There is suffering and great stress on both sides. However, not everything depends on us doctors. Many patients have neglected their health all their lives, and we can’t fix that in an hour. You come to us with heavy and difficult ‘baggage’. Many patients don’t follow the indications, smoke, don’t hydrate, don’t follow the fluid regime, etc. Anyone who has surgery must be well aware that there is a risk, however small. If diets worked, there would be no obesity and bariatrics. Bariatrics is the only real solution for obesity. It saves and prolongs hundreds of thousands of lives globally every year. Nothing is possible without taking a risk. We can’t travel by airplane without taking the risk that it might fall. So it is with bariatrics, and with any life decision in general.”

Dr. Dejeu Clinic is known for its multidisciplinary team of surgeons, psychologists, nutritionists and patient coordinators as the most sought after bariatric team in Romania and also have a significant number of patients from other countries as well. Dr. Viorel Dejeu stresses the importance of following medical indications and working with the team to minimize risks and ensure a good recovery. He also reminds patients that their health cannot be fixed in an hour and that bariatrics is often the only effective solution for obesity, saving and prolonging lives globally.