Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass

Laparoscopic gastric bypass (Roux-en-Y bypass surgery)

The stomach is made smaller by creating a small pouch at the top of the stomach from which the rest of the stomach is separated. This reduces the size of stomach to a small pouch and drastically restricts the amount of food one can eat. Then smaller pouch is connected to the middle portion of the small intestine, bypassing the main stomach and upper portion of the small intestine. This allows fewer calories to be absorbed from food by the intestinal lining.

Advantages of Laparoscopic gastric bypass

• Rapid weight loss
• Good for sweet eaters
• Quicker improvement with sugar control in diabetics
• Longer proven track records

Disadvantages of Laparoscopic Gastric bypass

• Portion of digestive tract is bypassed resulting in nutritional deficiencies
• Patient remains on daily vitamins including calcium, iron, multivitamins and protein supplements for the rest of their lives.
• Dumping syndrome can occur
• Permanent procedure

Risks /Complications

• Leak from the stomach or lower intestine into the abdominal cavity
• Internal bleeding

Recovery Period

• Hospital stay averages 3 days
• Return to normal activity in 4-5 days
• Complete surgical recovery usually occurs in 8-10 days.