What is the Banded Gastric Bypass?
It is a modification of the gastric bypass procedure for treatment of obesity. It has a transected vertical gastric pouch. A silastic ring band is put around the gastric pouch to form an externally reinforced stomach. The Jejunal Limb (small bowel) is used as a patch to the cut edge of the pouch to minimize the incidence of postoperative leaks. A temporary gastrostomy tube is used to decompress the bypassed stomach/and a gastrostomy site marker is placed to facilitate future access to the bypassed stomach. 2. How small is the pouch? The pouch is usually 15-30cc, less than 1 ounce or 1-2 tablespoonfuls. 3. Can the pouch stretch? Yes, but not significantly except if abused by frequent vomiting or overeating. 4. Why is the silastic ring band used? We, at The Center for Surgical Treatment of Obesity at St. Mary Medical Center, and others who have performed thousands of gastric bypass operations without the band have documented that the opening from the stomach pouch does stretch in some pa
