Diet Blog

Weight loss surgery is surgery that is performed on a person more than 100 pounds obese or has a bmi of 40 or more to reduce weight, when other forms of weight reduction had failed. There are different types of weight loss surgery which mainly follows two approaches to weight loss surgery which are restrictive procedures that lead to lowered food intake and malabsorptive procedures where digestion is altered and the food gets poorly digested and absorbed to be eliminated through stools.

Gastric restrictive procedure (Vertical Banded Gastroplasty)

This is a procedure where the upper stomach is stapled vertically for about 2 ½ inches so that the stomach gets smaller. Moreover its outlet is restricted with a band or ring where emptying of food is slow, which makes the person feel full.

Malabsorptive procedures – Biliopancreatic diversion

Here ¾ the stomach size is reduced so that food intake is restricted and acid output, decreased. Then the small intestine is altered so that one end joins the stomach pouch to form an ‘alimentary limb’. Though food passes here, there is no food absorption. The digestive juices pass the ‘biliopancreatic limb’ to reach the intestine end where they then reach its ‘common limb’. It is up to the surgeon to decide on common limb length, so that the absorption of fat, vitamins and protein is under control.

Extended Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass

This is surgery where the stomach is stapled to leave a small remainder in place. The bile and pancreatic juices get diverted to the longer part of the small intestine. This surgery offers fewer risks as ¾ of the stomach gets reduced.

Combined restrictive and malabsorptive procedures – Roux-en-Y Gastric bypass

Combination of both forms of surgery increases the effects of weight loss. Today the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is the most used weight loss surgery. Here the stomach is stapled to create a small pouch while the remainder stomach is stapled close. This stomach is connected to the lower jejunum for reduced calorie absorption. The other end of the intestine is connected to the intestine to give ‘Y’ shape, and the procedure’s name. Both intestine parts are increased or decreased to regulate malabsorption.

Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding

This is a restrictive procedure where a band is placed on the upper most part of the stomach to divide the stomach into a small and larger portion. With this food regulation, the patient feels full faster while digestion is normal here.

Laparoscopic or Minimally Invasive Surgery

Today there are many surgeons offering laparoscopic weight loss surgeries which are minimally invasive. In this procedure, a small video camera is inserted to the abdomen for the surgeon to view on a separate video monitor. Surgeons consider this a better means of visualization which provides access to main anatomical structures.