Obesity Treatment through Gastric ByPass Surgery

Obesity is one of the major health problems among people of all age groups today. The increase in the number of obese people over the past 10 years is alarming. In the US, the problem of obesity has reached epidemic proportions. All obese people may have tried some form of weight loss program to lose weight, but for a growing number of people, weight loss surgery is really the only long-term solution.

Gastric bypass, lap band surgery, sleeve gastrectomy are variations in bariatric surgery. All kinds of weight loss surgery aim at reducing the body weight, but the surgical procedure and the technique by which weight loss is achieved differs across different bariatric procedures.

Though gastric bypass has been around for more than half a century now, it was seldom used as a surgical option in treating obesity a few years ago. But today, it is considered an effective weight loss treatment by bariatric surgeons since it is safer and involves fewer complications than other available weight loss surgeries.

Roux-en-Y is the most common Gastric bypass surgery . In this surgery, the stomach is made smaller by creating a small pouch in the uppermost portion of the stomach using staples or a plastic band. The new stomach pouch is connected to the small intestines after a short section is bypassed. The result is that the stomach’s capacity is limited and few calories are absorbed. This renewed digestive process results in weight loss eventually.

Most people who have undergone gastric bypass surgery begin to lose weight quickly and continue to lose weight for up to a year. Only a small percentage of patients complain of weight gain after initial loss of weight. However, optimum body weight can be maintained by following a proper diet and some regular exercise. Any weight loss surgery is not successful without additional effort from the patient. If one is committed to losing and maintains weight post surgery, gastric bypass is probably the weight loss surgery that works best to treat obesity.