Gastric Bypass Surgery

Gastric bypass surgery makes the stomach smaller and allows food to bypass part of the stomach and small intestine. You will feel full more quickly than when your stomach was its original size, which reduces the amount of food you eat and thus the calories consumed. Gastric Bypass also causes malabsorption. This means that your body does not absorb all of the calories that you take in. Finally, Gastric Bypass causes an increase in the production of hormones called incretins. These hormones stimulate the pancreas to make more insulin and thus can often cure type II Diabetes.

First, the surgeon creates a small stomach pouch to restrict food intake. Next, a Y-shaped section of the small intestine is attached to the pouch to allow food to bypass the lower stomach, the duodenum (the first segment of the small intestine), and the first portion of the jejunum (the second segment of the small intestine). This reduces the amount of calories and nutrients the body absorbs.