Gastric By-pass or Roux-en-Y

A gastric by-pass, also known as a Roux-en-Y bypass is a bariatric procedure wherein the size of the stomach is reduced by creating a bypass for the food to enter the small intestine. The altered food path changes the secretion of the gastrointestinal hormones, and consequently reduces appetite, improves metabolism rate and causes weight loss. It is one of the widely accepted and performed bariatric procedures that has a high rate of success.

The success of this procedure requires the patient to maintain a strict dietary pattern for a few weeks/months following the surgery before they can return to normalcy.

Patients with a higher than 40 BMI can opt for this procedure, while those with slightly lesser BMI also qualify for the surgery should they be suffering from other co-morbidities such as heart-disease, type 2 diabetes and sleep apnoea.

The changes in metabolism, and subsequent loss of weight are expected to have certain side-effects, including but not limited to – body pains, fatigue, dryness of the skin, hair loss and mood swings. Gastric by-pass surgery does have a few risks, like all other surgical procedures, these include – excessive bleeding, infections, blood clotting and breathing difficulties. However, the medical staff will take all precautions to mitigate every possible risk.The expected weight-loss from this procedure is around 65% over a period of about 18 months from the date of the procedure. If the patient has the habit of smoking, the result may not be very encouraging, and it may also increase the risks following the surgery.