How it works
The banded gastric bypass surgery procedure involves placement of a small ring around the upper portion of the stomach to create a pouch roughly an inch long, with the ring also assisting as a stoma, or opening. A surgical connection to a portion of the small intestine completes the operation.
A gastrostomy tube may be inserted to keep the bypassed stomach compressed following surgery; the gastrostomy site also has a marker to facilitate access for imaging and other evaluations of the bypassed stomach if the need ever arises.