What is weight-loss surgery and how does it work?
The concept of surgery to control obesity grew out of the results of operations for cancer or severe ulcers that removed large portions of the stomach or small intestine. Because patients undergoing these procedures tended to lose weight after surgery, some physicians began to use such operations to treat severe obesity. The first operation that was widely used for severe obesity was the intestinal bypass. This operation, first used more than 40 years ago, produced weight loss by causing something called “malabsorption.” The idea was that patients could eat large amounts of food, which would be poorly digested or passed along too fast for the body to absorb many calories. Even though this surgery is no longer used in its original form, surgeons now use modified techniques that produce weight loss by limiting how much the stomach can hold. These restrictive procedures are often combined with modified malabsorbtive procedures that limit calorie and nutrient absorption and may lead to alt
