Gastric Bypass-Dangerous or not?

sharl · Silver Member Joined: 21 Oct 2000 Posts: 202

My son is 20 and has problem with his weight. He has been obese every since he was a little boy. I talked with his doctor and he mentioned gastric bypass. He told me the basics about this procedure but I would like to know more. Is it dangerous?

shine · Newbie Joined: 09 Jun 2005 Posts: 19

Every surgery has risks, and it is important for you to realize this. Gastric bypass surgery is a procedure that makes the stomach smaller. It allows food to bypass the part of the small intestine and it reduces the amount of the food you can eat. This leads to fewer calories consumation and absorbtion which leads to weight loss. Roux-en-Y procedure is the most common one. It can be done by making large and small incisions where the large one is done in open procedure and small one in laparoscopic approach. Laparoscopic approach consists of a small instruments and camera that helps to guide the surgery. Gastric bypass surgery is not usually used to treat obesity. It is considered after all other approaches have failed. It is done when the body mass index is 40 or higher and patients need to be over 18 years of age. Also, it is considered whan a person has been over-weight for more than 5 years and has not been showing results in other methods of losing weight. After the surgery, the patients stay at the hospital for 4 to 6 days and they return to their normal life after 3 to 5 weeks.

Gastric Bypass-Dangerous or not?

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