GASTRIC BYPASS .

Alternative Names:
Bariatric surgery – Gastric bypass; Roux-en – Y gastric bypass.

Definition:

Gastric bypass surgery is one type of procedure that can be used to cause significant weight loss if you are very obese. The surgery reduces your body´s intake of calories. Calories reduction is accomplished in two ways:

1.- After the surgery, your stomach is smaller. You feel full faster and leam to reduce the amount that you eat at any given time.

2.- Part of your stomach and small intestines are literally bypassed (skipped over) so that fewer calories are absorbed. Unfortunately, sometimes nutrients are lost as well.

The surgery is only right for you if you meet certain strict criteria described later in this article.

DESCRIPTION:

Prior to any weight loss operation, your doctor will give you a complete Medical examination and evaluate your overall health.

A psychological evaluation will be given to you. This will determine whether you are ready to adhere to a healthier lifestyle. If you are not ready to make lifestyle changes )and have not tried hard to do so already), you will not be considered eligible for the procedure. Without your lifestyle, the surgery will not be a success.

You will also receive extensive nutritional counseling before (and after) your surgery.

The surgery is preformed under anesthesia. There are two basic steps.:

•  STEP 1.- The first step in the surgical procedure makes your stomach smaller. The surgeon divides the stomach into a small upper section and lager bottom section using staples that are similar to stitches. The top section of the stomach (called the pouch) will hold your food.

•  STEP .- After the stomach has been divided the surgeon connects a section of the small intestine to the pouch. When you eat, the food will now travel from the pouch through this new connection (“Roux limb”), bypassing the lower portion of the stomach. The surgeon will then reconnect the base of the Roux limb with the remaining portion of the small intestines from the bottom of the stomach, forming a y-shape.

This “y-connection” allows food to mix with pancreatic fluid and bile, aiding the absorption of important vitamins and minerals. You still may experience poor absorption of certain nutrients.

The risk of malabsorption is of greater concern in gastric surgeries that skip over a larger portion of the small intestines. These are performed much less commonly than the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass as described.

LAPAROSCOPY:

Gastric bypass can be performed using a laparoscope. This less-invasive technique allows the surgeon to make smaller incisions, which lowers the risk of large scars and hernias after the procedure.

First, small incisions are made in your abdomen. The surgeon passes slender surgical instruments through these narrow openings. The surgeon also passes a camera (laparoscope) through one of these small openings and watches trough a lens and video monitor to do the surgery.

GASTRIC BALLON:

The gastric balloon system consists of a sort, expandable silicon ballon filled with a sterile saline solution after insertion which effectively decreases the volume of food the stomach will hold at any one time, so in essence, you have accomplished what surgery would, but with a procedure that is totally reversible. A feeling of fullness is present most of the time and a sensation of having eaten a full meal occurs after consuming only four or five ounces of food at any one time.

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