Gastric bypass surgery is one of the procedures – collectively known as ‘bariatric surgery’ – for the treatment of severe obesity. The procedure is designed to enable patients to shed excess weight and improve health outcomes. It essentially involves restructuring of sections of the gastro-intestinal tract, in order to reduce stomach size and also to create malabsorption of calories. There are several types of gastric bypass surgery; the most common involves dividing of the stomach and creating a small stomach pouch to the mid-section of the small intestine, thereby bypassing the lower stomach and part of the intestine. It is generally a permanent surgical procedure and cannot be easily reversed like gastric banding.
This type of procedure is mostly suited for the morbidly obese who have life-threatening conditions as a result of excess weight, and who have been unable to shed that weight through more natural means. While it may seem radical, it has been shown to have a high success rate for weight loss. The most common type of gastric bypass surgery used has an excellent reputation for resulting in a high percentage of weight loss in the year following the procedure and for a good percentage of patients being able to maintain much of that weight loss over the longer term.
A particular advantage of this gastric bypass surgery is known as “gastric dumping syndrome”, which effectively means that some foods enter the small intestine largely undigested. According to the Obesity Surgery Society of Australia and New Zealand, dumping syndrome can occur if the patient eats sweets and chocolate, preventing the calories from these foods being absorbed. Therefore this treatment can work well for people with a ‘sweet tooth’.
As with any surgery there are risks involved and anyone considering this procedure would need to be fully informed by their medical practitioner of these. Also people undergoing this surgery may need to take supplements throughout their lives due to poorer absorption of nutrients from the food they eat.
Ideally, the best way to lose weight is through natural means of lifestyle change through diet and exercise. However many people find they get caught in a kind of diet trap, whereby they might lose weight for a time but put it all back afterwards, often with even more weight. That can be so discouraging that some give up the idea of losing weight and their health can suffer greatly as a result.
We live in an ‘obesogenic’ environment where palatable foods are cheap and freely available. Another contributing factor is that, generally speaking, our occupations are far more sedentary than in decades past.
If you have struggled for many years to shed weight and improve your lifestyle without success, and may be at risk of obesity-related diseases, gastric bypass surgery might be an option for you. Speak to a medical professional for more information and to discuss the variety of options that may be open to you. Gastric bypass surgery is one of a number of procedures that could kick-start the weight loss process and help you adapt to new eating habits and lifestyle changes.
