Guide to Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass
Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass, or RYGB, is a different procedural type of stomach bypass that may reduce obesity. It is named after a good French surgeon, Roux, who invented it. It is one of the bariatric procedures endorsed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Report as a form of treatment for serious clinical obesity.
Many of you may not know that Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is among the most well known and most performed bariatric procedures in the United States today. Approximately seven out of ten bariatric surgeons employ this method as their main procedure when it comes to weight loss. Compared to other types of gastric bypass procedures such as Biliopancreatic Diversion Stomach Bypass or Duodenal Switch Stomach Bypass, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is relatively easier.
In addition, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass has been performed by many bariatric surgeons for more than 30 years. Over those years, the procedure has established an impressively high long-term success rate. It has also demonstrated a remarkably low mortality rate (less than 1% to be precise) and post-op complications. Most patients who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass usually lose around 50% to 75% of their original excess body fat. This is a significant weight loss because it virtually reduces many fatal conditions that are associated with morbid obesity.
The underlying principle behind the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery is actually similar for all stomach bypass operations. Gastric bypass procedures tackle two basic factors. First is the restrictive aspect of the procedure. This reduces the volume of food which the individual can eat. The second is the malabsorptive aspect of the procedure. This part of the procedure reduces the absorption of the nutrients and calories that comes from the food intake.
A typical human stomach can stretch up to about a thousand milliliters. In a Roux surgery, the surgeon reduces the stomach capacity to about 15 ml to 30 ml in size, which drastically decreases the quantity of food that can be contained in a single meal. In the second part of the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, this is the malabsorption part; the surgeon bypasses a considerable portion of the small intestine, since the absorption of the nutrients and calories normally takes place in the intestinal track. Hence, fewer calories will be absorbed by the body because of the shortened absorption process.
The combination of both the restrictive part and the malabsorptive aspect of the procedure is what makes the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass an impressively efficient weight loss treatment. However, reaching the full potential of this treatment will require some changes in the patient’s lifestyle through healthy diet and regular exercise.
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