Gastric bypass surgery - Definition,Types, pros and cons

What is Gastric bypass surgery?

Many people are looking for gastric bypass surgery due to the obesity; which has been becoming the major problem each year. It is the way to being control to their weights. Doctors create a small pouch in the stomach of the patient which reduces the food intake. The doctors bypass the parts of the small intestine and duodenum that decreases the ability of the body to absorb nutrients and calories from food you eat.

There are many different types of gastric bypass surgeries and your surgeon or physician will suggest you to particular type of surgery that would be most suitable to you. The surgeon will create small pouch with the help of staples to close the parts of stomach and surgeons may also use banding instead of staples. Then the new portion gets attached to small intestine which will allow the food to pass through with less calories addition and nutritional absorption. There is another method of doing bypass surgery and that is through laparoscopic means which will lend it for the shorter period of time of recovery.

Types of Gastric Bypass Surgery:

This surgery requires a stay in the hospital and procedures may depend on the practice of the physician and it is generally performed when the patient sleep under general anesthesia.

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP): This is most commonly performed gastric bypass surgery in the bariatric procedure. The restrictive and malabsorptive elements combine here and it staples the stomach into two sections in which the top section becomes the small pouch and serves as a new stomach with newly formed stomach that will restrict the amount of food intake. The lower section no longer receives and stores food but functions to continue to secrete digestive juices.

Biliopancreatic diversion (BPD): This surgery is primarily malabsorptive and also more complicated that the previous one. The surgeon removes the lower section and it is directly connected to small intestine. It completely bypasses the large section of small intestine and this may result in greater degree of malabsorption which causes nutritional deficiencies.

Pros of Gastric Bypass Surgery

Many less people suffer from complications due to bariatric procedures.
People suffering from obesity see improvements in the span of three years
Stress incontinence is managed dramatically
Bariatric surgery removes weight related aches and pains.
Breathing disorders are improved sometimes such as asthma and sleep apnea.
More than 90 percent of patients with Type II Diabetes see optimistic results, sometimes with the disorder going into remission. Borderline diabetics are even more likely to see a reversal in their symptoms.

Cons of Gastric Bypass Surgery

Bleeding factor is a risk related to surgery in the area of operation with bariatric surgery. It is very fragile area and prone to bleeding.
The patients with existing heart or lung conditions are prone to higher heart attack and lung failure during or after surgery.
Hospital stays may be prolonged due to complications during surgery.
Patient with history of blood clots are prone to heart attack and stroke or deep vein thrombosis (DVT) during surgery.
Infections like abdominal cavity and initial wounds are increased which may also increase prolonged stays in hospitals.

Cost of Gastric Bypass Surgery

The cost is different in different countries. The counties where modern instruments and technologies are used are high in cost and where traditional methods are applied, the cost is less in those countries. On an average it cost around $ 17000 to $ 30000 in developed countries and it is cheap in developing countries.