Stomach Bypass Surgery: How Does It Work?
By now you’ve probably heard about stomach bypass surgery. You may even have wondered if it’s the right choice for you. If you are contemplating having stomach bypass surgery, then it’s a useful starting point to learn how it works.
In normal digestion, what happens is that food passes through the stomach and enters the small intestine. That’s where the major part of the nutrients and calories are absorbed. Then it passes into the large intestine, and finally, after everything that your body needs has been extracted, the remaining waste is excreted.
When you have stomach bypass surgery, what happens is that a small part of your stomach is used to create a new stomach pouch. This pouch is pretty much the size of an egg. Then the stomach bypass surgeon connects this smaller stomach directly to the middle portion of the small intestine. This way, the stomach bypass surgery earns its name: it bypasses the rest of the stomach and the upper portion of the small intestine.
At Phoenix, stomach bypass surgery is performed laparoscopically. That means
the stomach bypass surgeon makes a couple of small incisions and uses small instruments and a camera to guide him or her; this is known as keyhole surgery.
After stomach bypass surgery, your stomach is smaller and your food bypasses part of the small intestine. You will not be able to eat as much food as you did before your stomach bypass surgery and therefore will lose weight.
