How Is Gastric Bypass Surgery Performed?
How It Works For people who struggle with obesity, gastric bypass can be the favored weight-loss surgery because it is safer and less complicated than other weight-loss surgeries. In gastric bypass surgery, the surgeon uses staples to make a small pouch about the size of a walnut at the top of the stomach. Then the surgeon makes a bypass around part of the stomach and small intestine. So after the surgery, food (which used to travel through the stomach into the small intestine) now travels, bypassing most of the stomach and part of the small intestine. The pouch that the surgeon created can hold about 1 oz. of food at any time. The food that is eaten no longer enters the lower part of the stomach, but the stomach still produces digestive juices. This change in the digestive system anatomy limits the amount of food a person can eat and digest. As a result, the person is more easily able to lose weight, which in turn, lowers the risk of medical problems related to obesity. Options During
