Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass

Gastric bypass procedures (GBP) are any of a group of similar operations used to treat morbid obesity—the severe accumulation of excess weight as fatty tissue—and the health problems (comorbidities) it causes.

Bariatric surgery is the term encompassing all of the surgical treatments for morbid obesity, not just gastric bypasses, which make up only one class of such operations.

Facts at a glance

Gastric bypass surgery is performed with keyhole surgery
The surgery has a higher complication rate than Gastric banding surgery
Weight loss is much faster than Gastric banding surgery
Hospital stay is on average (7-10) days
Return to work is usually with in (4) weeks
Long term follow up is essential for nutritional monitoring
No adjustments are required post operatively

A gastric bypass first divides the stomach into a small upper pouch and a much larger, lower “remnant” pouch and then re-arranges the small intestine to allow both pouches to stay connected to it. Surgeons have developed several different ways to reconnect the intestine, thus leading to several different GBP names. Any GBP leads to a marked reduction in the functional volume of the stomach, accompanied by an altered physiological and psychological response to food. The resulting weight loss, is typically dramatic, associated with markedly reduction in comorbidities.

Gastric bypass is indicated for the surgical treatment of morbid obesity, a diagnosis which is made when the patient is seriously obese, has been unable to achieve satisfactory and sustained weight loss by dietary efforts, and is suffering from co-morbid conditions which are either life-threatening or a serious impairment to the quality of life.

In the past, serious obesity was interpreted to mean weighing at least 100 pounds (45 kg) more than the “ideal body weight”, an actuarially determined body weight at which one was estimated to be likely to live the longest, as determined by the life insurance industry. This criterion failed for persons of short stature.

In 1991, the National Institutes of Health sponsored a consensus panel whose recommendations have set the current standard for consideration of surgical treatment, the body mass index (BMI). The BMI is defined as the body weight (in kilograms), divided by the square of the height (in meters). The result is expressed as a number usually between 20 and 70, in units of kilograms per square meter.

The Consensus Panel of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommended the following criteria for consideration of bariatric surgery, including gastric bypass procedures:

People who have a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher. Or,
People with a BMI of 35 or higher with one or more related comorbid conditions.

The Consensus Panel also emphasized the necessity of multidisciplinary care of the bariatric surgical patient, by a team of physicians and therapists, to manage associated co-morbidities, nutrition, physical activity, behavior and psychological needs. The surgical procedure is best regarded as a tool which enables the patient to alter lifestyle and eating habits, and to achieve effective and permanent management of their obesity and eating behavior.

Since 1991, major developments in the field of bariatric surgery, particularly laparoscopy, have outdated some of the conclusions of the NIH panel. In 2004, a Consensus Conference was sponsored by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS), which updated the evidence and the conclusions of the NIH panel. This Conference, composed of physicians and scientists of many disciplines, both surgical and non-surgical, reached several conclusions, amongst which were:

Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for morbid obesity
Gastric bypass is one of four types of operations for morbid obesity.
Laparoscopic surgery is equally effective and as safe as open surgery.
Patients should undergo comprehensive pre-operative evaluation, and have multi-disciplinary support, for optimum outcome.

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