Gastric Bypass

Get Effective Weight Loss Through A Gastric Bypass Bariatric Procedures

Gastric bypass surgery is historically one of the most common and effective bariatric surgical procedures in the world.

A gastric bypass surgery reforms a patient’s stomach to a smaller pouch that is then attached to a more distal section of their gastrointestinal tract – literally bypassing a section of their gut. After a gastric bypass, food will move through a much smaller stomach and have less surface area to be absorbed by.

A gastric bypass helps patients reduce their caloric intake, decrease their ability to absorb large volumes of food and ultimately lose weight. Studies show that after the gastric bypass people lose between 60-80% of their excess body weight over the first 12-24months. While some weight regain occurs in the longer term, patients can still expect to lose 50-70% of their excess body weight.

The Newcastle Obesity Surgery Centre is one of the leading bariatric clinics offering gastric bypass surgery in the Hunter and Newcastle areas. Our team of specialist bariatric surgeons and allied health consultants can help you begin your weight loss journey with a number of different weight loss strategies designed to improve your health and quality of life.

The gastric Roux-en-Y bypass, ‘gastric bypass’, is a bariatric procedure performed laparoscopically (keyhole surgery) under a general anaesthetic. During surgery, a smaller stomach pouch is formed which is then attached to the second part of your small intestine, the jejunum. The surgery therefore effectively bypasses about 95% of your stomach and approximately the first 50cm of the 5-7m your bowels.

While many aspects of how a gastric bypass results in weight loss are still not fully understood, we do know that the creation of a smaller stomach means that people feel full on less food. Taste changes are also reported which decrease the appeal of fat and sugar rich foods.

We also know that there is a reduction of hunger promoting hormones, which assists in reducing food intake. There is an additional intolerance of high sugar/fat foods (dumping syndrome) that deters people from eating these calorie dense foods. All of the above factors result in a reduction in calorie intake which therefore facilitates weight loss.

Gastric bypass surgery, along with any other bariatric procedure, is only ever a ‘tool’ to help you control your weight. Effective and sustainable weight loss ultimately does come down to the patient optimising their lifestyle according to their age, starting weight, concurrent medical or psychiatric illnesses, ability to exercise, meal planning/routine as well as perseverance. There also are a number of pros and cons associated with gastric bypass surgery to consider.

• This operation has withstood the test of time having been performed for over 30 years. It has undergone a variety of modifications to be considered by many surgeons, particularly in the US, as the gold standard operation.
• No foreign body (like the lap band) is used which decreases the chance of complications such as infection, migration or erosion.
• The gastric bypass has been shown to reduce the incidence of diabetes, high cholesterol, joint pain and hypertension and also lowers the dosage, or negates the use altogether, of medications used to treat lifestyle diseases.
• It may be offered as a revision or conversion surgery if needed post sleeve or band surgery.

• As the stomach and duodenum are largely bypassed, poor absorption of nutrients such as Vitamin B12, iron and calcium can result and a predisposition to iron deficiency anaemia, B12 deficiency and osteoporosis. Multivitamins are therefore required to be taken for life. If not taken as directed, long term and sometimes irreversible complications, such as neurological injury and permanent dementia can occur.
• Dumping syndrome can occur in a small population of people. It is not very common and managed by the dietary restriction of trigger foods.
• It is possible to stretch your stomach by overeating repetitively. This will not be a comfortable process. If your stomach becomes stretched to allow for the consumption of more food, the result will be weight gain. Keep in mind that most weight gain years after surgery is likely to be due to poor food and lifestyle choices rather than increased stomach volume capacity.

At Newcastle Obesity Surgery Centre, our treating team will take the time to discuss your risks, possible complications and encourage you to please discuss any specific concerns when they arise. As with any other medical intervention or surgical procedure, sometimes complications associated with gastric bypasses do occur. Below we have outlined some (not all) of the common gastric bypass complications that you should be aware of:

• Early major complications can occur and can lead to life threatening situations. Breakdown of one of the joins in the bowel is well recognised as a major cause of serious complications but is not common (about 1%). The risk of death from this procedure is less than 0.1%.
• The bypassed portion of the stomach, duodenum and segments of the small intestine cannot be easily visualised using X-ray or endoscopy if problems such as ulcers, bleeding or malignancy should occur.
• As with many weight loss operations, rapid weight loss can lead to gallstone formation in 20-30% of patients.
  Bowel obstruction can sometimes occur many years after the operation and can be difficult to diagnose. The risk of this occurring is thought to be at less than 3%.
• Other complications include staple line bleeding, narrowing of the new stomach, haemorrhage, bowel injury, wound infection, hernia, post operative abscess, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and reactions to anaesthesia/medications.

If you’re interested in gastric bypass surgery or any other weight loss intervention the specialists at Newcastle Obesity Surgery Centre are happy to discuss your options. Contact us today via our contact form or call us on 02 4032 8777. You can improve your wellbeing by benefitting from the dedicated support and attention of our team of weight loss experts.