Gastric Bypass
A gastric bypass – also known as Roux en Y surgery – can help if you’ve been trying to lose weight without success, and can be used to help treat obesity and related conditions.
Gastric Bypass
A gastric bypass – also known as Roux en Y surgery – can help if you’ve been trying to lose weight without success, and can be used to help treat obesity and related conditions.
Key Points
Surgery at a Glance
- Surgery Time: 1 - 2 hours
- Hospital Stay: 1 night
- Light Exercise: 6 weeks
- Full Recovery: 6 - 8 weeks
Procedure Time:
1 - 2 hours
Hospital Stay:
1 night
Light Exercise:
6 weeks
Fully Recovered:
6 - 8 weeks
Procedure Time:
1 - 2 hours
Hospital Stay:
1 night
Light Exercise:
6 weeks
Fully Recovered:
6 - 8 weeks
Gastric Bypass Surgery in Detail
A gastric bypass – also known as Roux en Y surgery – can help if you’ve been trying to lose weight without success, and can be used to help treat obesity and related conditions. During this procedure, a smaller stomach pouch is created by dividing the top of the stomach from the rest. The pouch is then connected directly to the small intestine, bypassing a portion of the stomach and the upper part of the small intestine. Restricting the amount of food you can eat, and the absorption of nutrients from it, leads to weight loss.
- Can lead to significant and sustained weight loss
- Restricts your body’s ability to absorb calories
- Can help to improve or resolve obesity-related health conditions
- Can provide long-term results
- Can increase energy levels
- Can improve the health of your heart
- Can improve your quality of life
- Infection
- Bleeding during or after surgery
- Gastrointestinal leakage
- Nutritional deficiencies due to poor nutrient absorption
- Bowel obstruction
- Dumping syndrome (causing nausea, vomiting, or diarrhoea)
- Gallstones
- Ulcers
- Weight regain
Having gastric bypass surgery can lead to weight loss of 71-72% of your excess weight. It can also help with obesity-related health issues such as high blood pressure and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
There are several steps involved in gastric bypass surgery. First of all, you’ll be given general anaesthetic so that you’re asleep during the procedure, so you won’t feel anything and be unaware of what’s happening around you.
Your surgeon will begin the bypass operation by making several small incisions in your abdomen, which will be used to access your stomach and small intestine. They’ll then divide the top portion of your stomach to create a small pouch. Although the rest of your stomach is separated from the pouch, it’s not removed.
The next step is for your surgeon to cut the small intestine before attaching one end of it to the newly created stomach pouch. The other end is attached to a lower point on the small intestine, creating a Y shape and allowing food to bypass the upper section of the small intestine.
With the surgery over, the incisions in the abdomen are then closed with sutures or staples.
If you have a BMI of 40 or higher, or 35 or higher with obesity-related health conditions, you may want to choose to have a gastric bypass. This procedure can provide a solution to people who are significantly overweight and who have failed to lose weight despite a healthy diet and exercising. It can also help if you’ve managed to lose weight, but haven’t been able to maintain the loss, as it can be a long-term solution.
Obesity is associated with numerous health conditions, such as heart disease, sleep apnoea, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, and losing weight via this surgery can improve or resolve these and reduce the risk of complications.
Gastric bypass surgery can help you regain your mobility, boost your self-confidence and improve your overall quality of life.
Following your gastric bypass surgery, you’ll stay overnight in hospital so that we are completely sure that your recovery is off to the very best start. Then you should be able to return home the next day.
It’s normal for your stomach to be swollen and for you to experience discomfort during your first few days of recovery. This can be managed with suitable pain medication.
We’ll give you all the information you need for your post-surgery journey, including what you should and shouldn’t eat following surgery. Gastric bypass patients follow a liquid-only diet during the first 2 weeks, then move on to pureed food the next week and soft food in week 4.
It’s typical to feel uncomfortable and quite tired in the initial few weeks after your operation, but as time passes these symptoms will start to ease because your body will be getting used to the changes made to your digestive system during surgery.
It’s advisable to take up to 2 weeks off work to aid your recovery. After about the 6-week mark, patients usually find that they’re able to return to their pre-surgery daily routine, including resuming exercise.
From Our Team
Your Journey
Step 1
Our Patient Advocate will guide you to a suitable surgeon for a video consultation or face-to-face consultation. Should you choose to move forward, we will arrange a pre-surgery meeting, depending on your medical history.
Step 2
Being in good health is vital for surgery. We’ll arrange a pre-surgery check with our nurses to ensure you’re ready and right for the procedure.
Step 3
On your surgery day at SUR, we’ll ensure your comfort as we prepare. Your procedure will occur in a surgical theatre, afterwards, you’ll rest in a recovery area or room. Once you’re recovering well, you can head home.
Step 4
At SUR, we prioritise outstanding aftercare. After your procedure, we’ll support you throughout. We’ll schedule check-ins to track your recovery, and our Patient Advocate is on hand for any post-operative guidance.
Our Patient Advocate will guide you to a suitable surgeon for a video consultation or face-to-face consultation. Should you choose to move forward, we will arrange a pre-surgery meeting, depending on your medical history.
Being in good health is vital for surgery. We’ll arrange a pre-surgery check with our nurses to ensure you’re ready and right for the procedure.
On your surgery day at SUR, we’ll ensure your comfort as we prepare. Your procedure will occur in a surgical theatre, afterwards, you’ll rest in a recovery area or room. Once you’re recovering well, you can head home.
At SUR, we prioritise outstanding aftercare. After your procedure, we’ll support you throughout. We’ll schedule check-ins to track your recovery, and our Patient Advocate is on hand for any post-operative guidance.
Gastric Bypass FAQ's
In order to be considered for gastric bypass surgery you will typically have a BMI of 40 or higher, or a BMI of 35 or higher with obesity-related health conditions. However, your surgeon will thoroughly assess your suitability for surgery based on your individual circumstances at your consultation.
Yes, you’ll need to make lifelong dietary and lifestyle changes once you’ve had gastric bypass surgery. This will include following the post-operative diet, exercising portion control, eating nutritious foods, taking regular exercise, and attending your follow-up appointments as scheduled.
Weight regain is possible following this procedure, and so it’s very important that you maintain the dietary and lifestyle changes that are needed to ensure this doesn’t happen. We’ll give you guidance on how to maintain the weight you lose and support you after your surgery to help you achieve and maintain your best results.
Dumping syndrome is a group of symptoms that can occur after eating if you’ve had weight loss surgery, such as a gastric bypass. It can happen after you’ve eaten high-sugar or high-fat foods. To avoid it, you should focus on eating a balanced diet and avoid trigger foods.
Common symptoms of dumping syndrome include nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhoea, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, sweating and flushing or reddening of the face.
Because of how the gastric bypass works, your ability to absorb micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) will be compromised lifelong, and so you’ll require nutritional supplements, including vitamins and minerals, to prevent any deficiencies occurring. You should also eat a varied and balanced diet.
The long-term effects can include sustained and substantial weight loss, improved health and the possible reversal of some conditions such as type 2 diabetes. Overall, you should discover a better quality of life in general. However, your outcome will depend to a large extent on your individual commitment to post-surgery care and the lifestyle changes that need to be implemented to ensure success.
Meet Our Team
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