The mini gastric bypass operation is a type of obesity surgery. It entails separating a small part of the stomach from the main stomach sac in the form of a tubular structure. It is then connected directly to the small bowel, this bypasses the main stomach and about two meters of the small bowel.
Recently there has been a lot of medical interest in this procedure both at home and abroad. Top Doctors expert surgeon Mr Alhamdani sheds light on some of the key questions….
Persistent weight loss
The mechanism by which such an operation works is by encouraging the patient to follow a healthy diet, such as the Mediterranean diet, with lots of fruits and vegetables. This operation achieves this by inducing an intolerance to high-energy content diets like sweets. It is also thought that the rate of malabsorption of nutrients after a mini gastric bypass is higher than that of the full gastric bypass. Therefore, the weight reduction is more persistent for the people who have a mini gastric bypass in comparison to those who have the full gastric bypass.
Fewer complications
The complications after this operation are relatively lower than the full gastric bypass operation for the following reasons:
- The time required to perform the mini gastric bypass is shorter. Therefore, the chance of having complications like clots in the legs or lungs, and infections are less.
- Only one joint is made in the mini bypass operation whereas two are made in the more complicated full gastric bypass operations, this can lead to complications especially in the hands of the less experienced surgeons.
- It is more difficult to do any further surgical interventions in the case of a full gastric bypass. While the mini gastric bypass can be surgically revised relatively easier.
It is worth bearing in mind that each weight loss surgery procedure has its own pros and cons. The patient’s individual circumstances will largely play an important factor in what is the right decision for each individual patient.
