Gastric Bypass
Gastric Bypass Surgery is generally considered to be the best surgical procedure for the treatment of morbid obesity. Weight loss is achieved by reducing the functional portion of the stomach to a pouch the size of a golf ball and by creating a stoma, a small opening between the stomach and the intestine. This procedure is recommended only for patients with BMI above 35, just like for the intragastric balloon.
After the gastric bypass procedure, a small size of the stomach pouch causes the patient to have a sensation of fullness after eating only a small portion of food. The small stoma delays stomach emptying, making the sensation of fullness last longer.
The procedure
Today, gastric bands are placed through laparoscopic surgery, decreasing wound complication rates and time spent in hospital to less then one day, with patients returning to work within 7 days. To me, this is really scary, but maybe if my life would depend on it I would do it (and for most of the patients this is the case). Click on the image below to watch the video and tell me how do you feel. 
Benefits and Risks
The major (and only) benefit of this procedure is the fact that you lose a lot of weight. Some statistics talk about 28-87% of the original body mass, with a minimum of 2 year postoperative follow-up.
The risks however are important including a low rate of mortality:
- death (1 in 2,000to 3,000 patients)
- band erosion into the stomach (1 in 200 patients)
- port site infection (1 in 50 patients)
- band slippage, pouch or esophageal dilatation (1 in 100 patients)
- reservoir deflation/leak (1 in 50 patients)
- persistent vomiting (variable)
- failure to lose weight (variable and dependent on patient compliance)
- acid reflux (variable)
- esophageal or gastric perforation (1 in 100 patients)
- band removal/conversion to other weight loss surgical procedure (1 in 100 patients).
You thought this is all and now all you have to do is wait and lose weight? Well, you were wrong. Now the gastric bypass diet starts and you have to dedicate some time for this because it needs special attention.
Related Posts
RSS Trackback URL 12. February 2007 (17:49)Filed under: Body, Weight loss
2 Comments»
The Gastric Bypass Diet | DietMotion
13. February 2007 | 22:08 h[...] After the gastric bypass procedure, the gastric bypass diet starts and it has several stages, from “liquids only” to small meals of soft, high-protein foods. Meals on the new menu will be much smaller than normal, and the foods eaten must be very smooth in texture. On all stages of the diet, it is especially important to drink enough water, and to take vitamin and mineral supplements: [...]
3 Times More Teens Are Undergoing Obesity Surgery | DietMotion
6. March 2007 | 15:35 h[...] A nationwide US study has revealed that the yearly number of teenagers having surgery to tackle severe obesity has strongly increased since the 1990s. A still-small but growing number of teens are undergoing obesity surgery, which reduces the size of the stomach, to treat obesity. “The number of bariatric procedures in adolescents has increased in the time period 2000 to 2003.Even though these are a small percent of all the bariatric operations done in the U.S., the increase has been significant.” [...]