Gastric
Bypass
Why gastric bypass or stomach stapling? Proper diet and exercise may not be sufficient to treat a
chronic condition like obesity. One of the top options for people, who are severely obese and find
it difficult to lose weight by traditional means or suffer from other related health problems, is
gastric bypass surgery (commonly referred to as stomach stapling through lapband or laparoscopy).
Gastric banding restricts food intake and, in some cases, interrupts the digestive process hence
promoting weight loss. However, healthy eating behaviour and regular physical exercise can lead to
the best results with gastric bypass surgery, as in other treatments for obesity.
When we eat, food goes through the food pipe into the stomach and then enters the small
intestine, where most of the nutrients and calories are absorbed. The remaining waste is eventually
excreted, after the food passes into the large intestine (colon). This is what happens in the case
of normal digestion.
Laparoscopic surgery allows food to bypass part of the small intestine besides making the stomach
smaller. Therefore, those who have undergone such surgery tend to feel full more quickly than when
their stomachs were the original size. This reduces the amount of food that they eat and also the
calorie intake. As a part of the intestines is bypassed, fewer calories are absorbed as well. This
causes loss of weight.
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is the most common gastric by pass surgery.
A small pouch is created at the top of the stomach using surgical staples or a plastic band, in
order to make the size of the stomach smaller, in a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. The rest of the
stomach and the upper portion of the small intestine (duodenum) are bypassed and the smaller pouch
created after surgery is connected directly to the middle portion of the small intestine (jejunum).
This is carried out either through an open procedure i.e. by making a large incision in the
abdomen or through the laparoscopic approach by making a small incision and using small instruments
and a camera to guide the surgery.
The stoach pouch created during surgery is quite small and usually holds only about 2 to 4
tablespoons at a time. Also, the diameter of the connection between this pouch and the middle
portion of the small intestine is about 1 to 1.5 centimetres. This significantly reduces the amount
of food that can be eaten at one time.
As two stages of normal digestion are bypassed, the body has less opportunity to
absorb nutrients, which it does during all stages of digestion, under normal
conditions. The fewer calories the body can absorb, the greater the weight loss.
The gastric by pass surgery also interferes with the appetite regulatory process in a way that is
not well understood at present. However, those who undergo such surgery eat less, but they are also
likely to feel hungry and less often.
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educational purposes and does not replace medical advice from a practicing physician. Under no
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