The Procedures Involved In Gastric Bypass Surgery

By Brian Anderson


Bariatric operations are types of surgeries that help in weight loss. The idea is to reduce the food that can be held by the stomach at a given point in time (which reduces food intake) or to reduce the absorption of both. Some modalities achieve their results through both mechanisms. Gastric bypass surgery is one of the commonly performed weight loss operations in New York.

Weight-loss surgeries should only be considered after other conservative measures such as lifestyle changes have proved to be ineffective. They are suitable for persons that are at a high risk of developing weight related complications such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and gastro-esophageal reflux disease among others. The candidate should have a body mass index of 40 or more unless they already have complications where the cutoff is lowered to 35.

If you meet the required criteria, the operation will be scheduled to take place when you have been adequately prepared. You may need to have a number of tests to ascertain that you are ready for the operation. You may be asked to scale down or withhold on some drugs and foods until the operation is over. Smoking affects wound healing and should be stopped at least two weeks in advance.

There are different types of gastric bypass that can be performed. The most common is the Roux-en-Y. This type is very popular since it can be performed through by minimal access hence there are less complications and the recovery time is markedly reduced. It involves two steps. The first is the conversion of the stomach into a small pouch through stapling or vertical banding. The capacity of the stomach is reduced and so is the food intake.

The second step is the attachment of a Y-shaped intestinal portion to the pouch. When food moves from the pouch into this part of the intestines, a significant section of the digestion tract is bypassed (hence the name). This means that there will be less absorption of nutrients and less calories will be produced. Weight loss starts to set in in subsequent weeks and months.

Another type of operation that may be done albeit rarely is extensive gastric bypass (also termed biliopancreatic diversion. It is an operation that is quite complicated than the conventional procedure. It entails the anastomosis (joining) of the first part of the stomach to the last intestinal section and getting rid of the lower stomach. The other two intestinal parts are bypassed.

You need to be aware of the attendant risks of these surgeries. A major risk is the fact that the pouch mat dilate over some months or years effectively increasing the stomach size. It is possible for it to even revert to its original size. The band and the staples may disintegrate and fall off which reverses the procedure. There are cases where stomach acids leak through the incisions and enter the abdominal cavity causing damage to internal organs.

Dumping syndrome is a condition that results from the rapid movement of food through the stomach. Whenever this happens, affected persons may experience a number of symptoms that include weakness, nausea, fainting, sweating and diarrhea. The symptoms are most likely to occur when one eats sugary foods (usually after 10 and 30 minutes after eating). Some people have also have late symptoms that occur about three hours after eating.




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