Shortness of breath 1 week post op

[shay_shay209 2]

Anyone have shortness of breath a week post op of the gastric bypass? I saw my doctor yesterday they didn't seem concerned but I don't know if I'm just doing to much ..

[James Marusek 5,244]

Are there any other symptoms?

During the first few weeks after surgery, pulmonary embolism and a gastric leak from the anastomosis lead the list of life-threatening complications, according to James A. Madura II, MD, director of the bariatric surgery program at the mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Any sustained heart rate reaching 120 beats per minute should be a red flag to check for a potential leak, Dr. Madura said. Christopher Still, DO, FACP, director of Geisinger's Obesity Institute in Danville, Pa., strongly agreed. “Tachycardia greater than 120 with or without left-side shoulder pain should be a leak until proven otherwise,” he said.

Shortness of breath and tachycardia, according to both surgeons, also can be 2 potential red flags for another rare but life-threatening complication—pulmonary embolism.

A pulmonary embolism is a blood clot that occurs in the lungs. Generally when you have surgery, they make you get up and walk every couple hours in the hospital to make sure you don't develop a blood clot. You are also given a prescription for a blood thinner that you self administer for around the first 10 days after the operation. Since you are 1 week post-op, this is the condition that I would be most focused on.