Bariatric surgery procedures work in one of two ways:
- Restrictive, which means it reduces the amount of food you eat
- Malabsorptive, which means it lets some of the food you eat pass through the intestine without being absorbed
Roux-en-Y, or gastric bypass, is a combination of these two methods. It is a restrictive operation with mild malabsorption. It was first performed in 1966, and is considered by many surgeons in the United States to be the “gold standard” for weight loss surgery.
During Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, the surgeon creates a small stomach pouch to restrict food intake to about 1 ounce. The new stomach pouch is attached to the small intestine, bypassing the lower stomach and the duodenum. This bypass reduces the amount of calories and nutrients the body absorbs.
Advantages of Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass:
- Rapid weight loss
- Covered by many insurance companies
- Longest proven track record of any bariatric surgery
- Dumping syndrome with high sugar foods and beverages
Disadvantages of Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass:
- Staple line leak
- Internal hernia
- Longer recovery time
- Anastomotic ulcers, strictures
- Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
Physicians offering the Gastric Bypass procedure at Evergreen: