A gastric bypass means that you cut the stomach high up so that you separate the stomach in two parts - a small upper part and a large lower part. The upper part is then connected to the small bowel a bit downstream on the small bowel.
The larger lower part of the stomach is just left lying idle. It is out of the food circulation and will never again be filled with food. So you end up with a small stomach and a shorter bowel. This means that you will feel full more quickly (because of the small stomach) and that you will absorb less of the food actually eaten (because of the shorter bowel).
The small upper part of the stomach can be connected to the small bowel in a number of different ways: antecolic GE, retrocolic GE, with or without enteroanastomosis (EA), Fobi pouch - and Roux-en-Y. So the name Roux-enY is not a separate operation - it is just a technical descripton for the model for connecting the small stomach to the bowel. All of these (including Roux-en-Y) are gastric bypass operations. The most common gastric bypass surgery is a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.
After gastric bypass surgery, your small upper stomach will hold about one-fourth cup of food. After eating just a nibble or two, you will feel full, and your appetite will be reduced. This causes weight loss. Although the food you eat is digested, your body cannot get all the nutrients you need. You need vitamin and mineral supplements to help your surgical wound heal and avoid
health problems such as anemia, nerve problems, osteoporosis and others.
On an average, patients will lose as much as 100 poundssometimes moreor a about two thirds of their excess weight in one year. Some people lose a little more, some a little less. Weight loss will continue during the second year at
a less rapid rate.
About 15 percent of patients will not lose as much weight as they would like, but will still lose weight. Think of gastric bypass as a tool to help you lose weight and eat healthier foods. Most patients say it is the first time they have stayed on a successful diet that they also feel good about.
Surgery to produce weight loss is a serious undertaking. Each individual should clearly understand what the proposed operation involves. Patients and physicians should carefully consider the following benefits and risks:
Benefits:
"Immediately following surgery, most patients lose weight rapidly and continue to do so until 18 to 24 months after the procedure. Although most
patients then start to regain some of their lost weight, few regain it all.
"Surgery improves most obesity-related conditions. For example, in one study blood sugar levels of most obese patients with diabetes returned to normal after surgery. Nearly all patients whose blood sugar levels did not return to normal were older or had had diabetes for a long time.
Risks:
"Ten to 20 percent of patients who have weight-loss operations require follow-up operations to correct complications. Abdominal hernias are the most common complications requiring follow-up surgery. Less common complications include breakdown of the staple line and stretched stomach outlets.
"More than one-third of obese patients who have gastric surgery develop gallstones. Gallstones are clumps of cholesterol and other matter that form
in the gallbladder. During rapid or substantial weight loss a persons risk of developing gallstones is increased. Gallstones can be prevented with supplemental bile salts taken for the first 6 months after surgery.
"Nearly 30 percent of patients who have weight-loss surgery develop nutritional deficiencies such as anemia, osteoporosis, and metabolic bone disease. These deficiencies can be avoided if vitamin and mineral intakes are
maintained.
"Women of childbearing age should avoid pregnancy until their weight becomes stable because rapid weight loss and nutritional deficiencies can harm a developing fetus.
About The Author
Doug Jones is a contributing author and publisher to
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