Today in the U.S., 127 million Americans are overweight, 60 million are obese, and nine million are considered morbidly obese. In 2005, almost 200,000 bariatric surgeries were performed. Increasing numbers of these patients will be in your gastrointestinal units with post-op complications that can be managed endoscopically. The objective of this talk is to review the anatomy and physiology of different surgeries, show examples of several post-operative complications, and show how they can be managed.

Section Description

We are pleased to present the abstracts from SGNA's 33rd Annual Course, SGNA on a Mission: Exceeding Expectations. The diversity of these topics certainly reflects the richness and breadth of our specialty. In keeping with the tradition of the Annual Course, we hope the following abstracts will encourage discussions for improving nursing practice and patient care outcomes.