HOW IT WORKS
In the first part of mini gastric bypass surgery the stomach is divided and a small tube of stomach created which becomes the pouch. This is the restrictive part of the procedure and means that only a very small amount of food can be taken at any one time.
Next, the surgeon brings up a loop of bowel (about 200-300cm long) and joins this to the lower part of the stomach pouch. (The joining of bowel to bowel, or stomach to bowel is called an “anastamosis”). This means that food passes from the small pouch into the small bowel where it meets the digestive juices which have moved downwards from the main part of the stomach. In effect, therefore, about 2-3m of small bowel has been bypassed before absorption of food (and calories) can take place. Fewer calories absorbed, means weight loss.
Next, the surgeon brings up a loop of bowel (about 200-300cm long) and joins this to the lower part of the stomach pouch. (The joining of bowel to bowel, or stomach to bowel is called an “anastamosis”). This means that food passes from the small pouch into the small bowel where it meets the digestive juices which have moved downwards from the main part of the stomach. In effect, therefore, about 2-3m of small bowel has been bypassed before absorption of food (and calories) can take place. Fewer calories absorbed, means weight loss.
RESULTS
The mini gastric bypass (MGBP) works both by restricting the amount of food that can be eaten at any one time, and by causing malabsorption and also by altering gut hormones involved in appetite control.
