Gastric-bypass surgery

Gastric-bypass surgery has been endorsed by a consensus panel convened by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as the only effective means of inducing significant long-term weight loss for the vast majority of patients with clinically severe obesity.

Click here for a link to the National Institutes of Health Consensus Statement that endorses Gastrointestinal surgery for severe obesity. Since that 1991 endorsement, which is still the standard of care for most patients with clinically severe obesity, there have been significant enhancements to the gastric-bypass procedure, including the advent of minimally invasive surgery by laparoscopic techniques.

With the use of laparoscopy, major operations are performed through tiny incisions with special miniaturized instruments. Surgical video cameras called laparoscopes are also inserted so the surgeon can see inside the body. Surgeons watch on monitors as they perform the surgery. Through the laparoscopic method surgeons perform precisely the same operation that is done by the open procedure. The smaller the incisions bestow a wealth of benefits. They help reduce post-surgical pain, shorten hospital stays, shorten overall recovery times, and reduce the risk of infections.

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass

One of the most popular and successful surgical approaches is the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. The NIH and the American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS) recognize and endorse the Roux-en-Y procedure as the current Gold Standard of all available procedures in Bariatric surgery.

The Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure involves a modification of the stomach so that only a small amount of food can be eaten at one time. A small pouch is created at the top of the stomach effectively shrinking the volume of the stomach to two ounces (about the size of a person’s thumb) (1). The pouch is created using a surgical stapler.

Next, the small bowel is divided about two feet from the stomach. A Y-shaped section of the small intestine is attached to the pouch (2) to allow food to bypass the duodenum (the first segment of the small intestine) as well as the first portion of the jejunum (the second segment of the small intestine).

The other end of the small intestine, still connected to the now non-functional stomach remnant, is reconnected to the intestinal tract (the jejunojejunostomy) (3).

Follow the link to the next page to learn about the results and benefits of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure.