Gastric Bypass  

The Gastric Bypass helps our patients lose weight in 4 different ways. This procedure is best-suited for sugar-addicts, grazers and diabetics.

First, your surgeon will create a small (15cc) pouch from the upper part of the stomach. Just by doing this, you will have restriction in the amount of food that you can ingest at any time. The remaining stomach, called the gastric remnant, is left in place. It still has a viable blood supply and will continue creating gastric acids needed for digestion. The remnant will no longer be able to accept food or drink.

Secondly, part of the small bowel is bypassed (approx. 150 cm). This creates malabsorption of calories, nutrients and vitamins/minerals.

Thirdly, bypassing the lower stomach creates a reduction in the “Hunger Hormone” called grehlin, which decreases the appetite in general.

Fourth and final, the bypassing of the small intestine makes it hard to digest sugar and fat. Eating too much of those foods will trigger an episode we call “dumping”, which can include the following: abdominal pain, rapid heart rate, nausea, diarrhea, sweating, vomiting and general malaise. These episodes can last from one hour to all day. While some may consider dumping unpleasant, it is a wonderful reminder to eliminate those bad foods from your diet. We think of dumping as a benefit of the bypass procedure.

Benefits:

Fast Weight Loss

Quicker Resolution of Weight-Related Illnesses

Dumping

Faster Improvement or Cure to Diabetes

No Adjustments Needed

Disadvantages:

More Invasive Procedure

Life-Long vitamin Supplementation Required

Potential for inadequate weight loss or weight re-gain

Click here to view an animation of the procedure.