Gastric bypass is a type of bariatric (weight loss) surgery that treats obesity – a medical condition in which your body stores too much fat, causing serious health complications.
Obesity raises your risk of life-threatening conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Losing 5 percent or more of your weight can prevent or delay health troubles. At Temple Health, our compassionate multidisciplinary team guides you through your bariatric surgery. The surgery is part of a comprehensive weight-management plan.
Gastric bypass surgery may be an option if:
-
You have metabolic syndrome.
-
Your BMI is over 40.
-
You have a BMI of 35 to 39.9 and two or more obesity-associated health conditions, such as high blood pressure, sleep apnea, diabetes or heart disease.
-
Obesity affects daily living, relationships or your ability to move.
-
Diet and exercise changes haven’t worked.
Treatment Options
This procedure surgically reduces your stomach size and reroutes the small intestines. Bypass surgery reduces how much you can eat and how many calories you absorb.
By creating a small pouch from your stomach so food goes into the pouch. Doctors then connect the pouch to your small intestine. This sends food past a large part of your stomach.
If you have a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, you’ll feel full after eating less food. This combined with behavior modification and dietary compliance will help you achieve successful weight loss. You’ll lose weight since you’re taking in fewer calories.
Surgery Approaches
Doctors refer to bariatric surgeries as restrictive or malabsorptive. Procedures generally involve one or both of these approaches:
-
Restrictive – Restricts how much you eat by decreasing your stomach size
-
Malabsorptive – Changes how you absorb calories and nutrients by changing your digestive-tract structure
Types of Surgery
-
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGBP) – This traditional bypass surgery involves creating a stomach pouch and surgically redirecting or bypassing your intestines.
-
Minimally invasive bariatric surgery – Temple surgeons perform many procedures using laparoscopic bariatric surgery. Potential benefits include fewer incisions so you have less discomfort, less scarring and an easier recovery.
Diet After Surgery
After surgery, you’ll follow strict dietary guidelines that are essential to proper nutrition and healing. Avoid getting too full – especially while your newly created pouch heals. After that, keep portion sizes small to maintain weight loss.
You progress through these diet phases:
-
Clear liquid diet – Right after bariatric surgery, sip only clear liquids. These may include drinks such as diluted apple juice, broth, sugar-free gelatin and artificially sweetened, non-carbonated beverages.
-
Full liquid diet – Within a week, add full liquids, such as low-fat creamed soup, protein shakes, milk, yogurt and sugar-free pudding.
-
Pureed diet – Puree your foods for about two weeks. Eat small meals focused on high-protein foods.
An Experienced Surgery Team
With decades of experience in bariatric care and surgical procedures, we understand the complex problems of obesity. At the Temple Bariatric Program, you receive high-level care that includes:
-
Experienced surgeons – The Temple Bariatric Program has skilled surgeons and a record of accomplishment of successful outcomes. For nearly a decade, our surgeons and multidisciplinary team has exclusively cared for bariatric patients. Learn about your doctors and care team.
-
Temple University Hospital (TUH) is one of the region's most respected academic medical centers.
-
Jeanes Hospital provides advanced surgical services in a convenient, community-based setting.
Ready for an Appointment?
Find a doctor near you, request an appointment, or call 800-TEMPLE-MED (800-836-7536) today.
