Gastric Bypass is a surgical weight loss method. This method is applied in the operating room under general anesthesia. A fasting period of at least 8 hours is required before the operation. The day before the surgery, blood thinners are administered at a dose sufficient to prevent blood clotting. After the patient is put to sleep by the anesthesiologist, a urinary catheter is inserted. Gastric Bypass surgery is performed with the laparoscopic method called closed. With the help of a thin 30 cm long camera inserted into the abdomen, several 5 to 10 mm long skin incisions are made. Then long rods thinner than a pencil are inserted into the abdomen. With the help of these rods and suture staples called staplers, a 6 cm long and 3 cm wide stomach pocket is created in the part of the normal stomach after the esophagus. In order to reduce digestion, the small intestine is combined with the stomach pouch about 200 cm from the section called Treitz. In order to see the strength of the stitches between the new stomach pocket and the intestine, the anesthesiologist tests the stomach with a blue dyed liquid called leak test. Sometimes this test is done with air and sometimes both methods are used. The surgery is finalized by suturing the incision sites without removing any stomach parts.

What is Gastric Bypass in short?

Gastric Bypass surgery is one of the most commonly performed surgeries in the world. This surgery is applied to make people lose weight with two mechanisms. In Gastric Bypass surgery, a small stomach volume is created. However, the small stomach is connected to the small intestine. Incoming nutrients bypass the large stomach and pass into the small intestine. This process is also called Gastric Bypass.

Is Gastric Bypass surgery a suitable operation for me?

Gastric Bypass surgery is suitable for patients with a body mass index of more than 35, who have diabetes or who eat sugary foods, alcohol, high-calorie snacks and cola.

How long will I stay in the hospital after Gastric Bypass surgery?

You will usually stay in the hospital for 2-3 days after the surgery. After taking water and liquid foods during this period, you can be discharged by removing the drain if your doctor deems appropriate.

What will I experience after Gastric Bypass surgery?

After the surgery, you can easily feel full with a small amount of food intake. This satiety will turn into fullness and loss of appetite over time. The use of necessary vitamin and mineral supplements will be monitored with the instructions of surgeons and dieticians. In this way, you can lose weight very comfortably without experiencing vitamin and mineral losses.

How much weight can I lose after Gastric Bypass surgery?

It is possible to lose 50-100% of your excess weight in 1-2 years after Gastric Bypass surgery. The success of your weight loss is proportional to your compliance with your diet and exercise program after surgery. After Gastric Bypass surgery, for example, someone who entered the surgery with 120 kg can lose approximately 50-60 kg.

Gastric bypass surgery is primarily based on the direct diversion of food to the last segment of the small intestines without running through the stomach and a great portion of the small intestines. There are various types of gastric bypass surgery: these are Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch.

These methods aim bypassing foods directly to duodenum or initial segments of the small intestine with no or minimal contact of foods to stomach by removing a part of stomach or without need to remove a part of stomach. Recently, those surgeries can be performed with laparoscopic methods. This technique is minimally invasive, such as laparoscopy, which involves making several small incisions instead of one large incision. This approach typically results in shorter hospital stays, faster recovery, and reduced scarring compared to traditional open surgery.

Who will be interested in this procedure?

Gastric bypass is typically performed on individuals who are severely obese and have not been able to lose weight through other methods such as diet and exercise. It is a major surgery that carries risks and potential complications, and is usually only recommended for individuals who meet certain criteria.

Some of the potential benefits of gastric bypass include significant weight loss, improvement in obesity-related health conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, and improved quality of life. Comparing to sleeve gastrectomy, surgery-related complications are more commonly accompanied by long-term postoperative metabolic problems in all of these methods. While more weight loss is achieved and can maintained up to 2 years. 

However, it’s important to note that gastric bypass is not a quick fix for obesity and requires significant lifestyle changes, including changes to diet and exercise habits, in order to achieve and maintain long-term results. It is also not suitable for everyone and should only be considered after a thoughtful evaluation and discussion with a qualified healthcare professional.

Gastric Bypass Recovery

After the procedure, the patient will have a special diet plan given by the doctor that has many restrictions or limits on how much and what the patient can eat and drink. The first few days after the operation, the patient may have liquids but no solid food as his stomach and intestines start to heal. Then follow a special diet plan that changes slowly from liquids to pureed foods. After that, soft foods can be eaten. Then the patient can move on to harder foods as their body will able to tolerate them.

The surgeon will recommend the patient take vitamin and mineral supplements after the surgery. Such as multivitamins with iron, calcium and vitamin B-12.

The patient will also have frequent medical check-ups to monitor their health in the first several months after weight-loss surgery. The patient may need laboratory testing and various exams.

Gastric Mini Bypass

The Mini Gastric Bypass is a newer version of the traditional Gastric Bypass. The main difference is that it is a less complicated procedure because it bypasses 2m of the small bowel and the standard Gastric Bypass because it requires only one anastomoses (surgical join), compared with standard Gastric Bypass, which requires two. 

Some studies show that the Mini Gastric Bypass has similar or even better long-term weight loss results than the Gastric Sleeve and Roux-en-Y (Gastric Bypass). The surgery is done via laparoscope and typically involves 2-3 days in hospital. Whilst the Mini Gastric Bypass is still more invasive than Sleeve Surgery, it is less invasive than the standard Gastric Bypass (about 50 minutes faster – or roughly 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours on the table).

It is important to note that while the mini gastric bypass may be an option for some individuals, it is not as widely performed or studied as the traditional gastric bypass. Each procedure has its own advantages, disadvantages, and potential risks. The suitability of a specific procedure depends on various factors, including the individual’s health status, body mass index (BMI), and the recommendations of a bariatric surgeon who can evaluate and discuss the best options for weight loss surgery.