A Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is a restrictive and malabsorptive surgical procedure which keeps you from eating a lot of food at one time and absorbing everything you eat. Through this surgery, a 1- 1 ½ ounce pouch, about the size of an egg, is made from the stomach and connected to a re-routed portion of the small intestine, changing the digestive pathway of the food you eat.
Surgery and Recovery
- Surgery one-and-a-half to two hours
- Two- to three-day hospital stay
- Two- to four-week recovery period
Benefits
- Fastest and greater weight loss on average, with 60 to 80 percent of the expected weight lost being lost 18 to 24 months after surgery
- More successful at helping patients improve weight-related conditions like Type 2 diabetes
Risks
- Leakage through staples or sutures that hold stomach and intestine together
- Injury to spleen during surgery
- Ulcers could develop in the stomach or small intestine
- Blockage of stomach opening
- Internal hernias
- Vitamin and iron deficiency
Other Considerations
- Not reversible
- Fastest weight loss
- Nausea and “dumping” syndrome with certain foods (large amounts of sugar may cause diarrhea and sweating – some with a sweet tooth consider this a benefit, to help curb sugar cravings)
- Vitamins mandatory
- Not allowed to take aspirin or NSAIDs afterward
- Able to eat regular food after two weeks of surgery
