Gastric
Bypass Surgery
The most common gastric bypass surgery is a Roux-en-Y gastric
bypass.
In normal digestion, food passes through the stomach and enters
the small intestine, where most of the nutrients and calories are
absorbed. It then passes into the large intestine (colon), and
the remaining waste is eventually excreted.
In a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, the stomach is made smaller by
creating a small pouch at the top of the stomach with surgical
staples or a plastic band. The smaller stomach is connected directly
to the middle portion of the small intestine (jejunum), bypassing
the rest of the stomach and the upper portion of the small intestine
(duodenum).
This procedure can be done by making a large incision in the abdomen
(an open procedure) or by making a small incision and using small
instruments and a camera to guide the surgery (laparoscopic approach).
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