Food bypasses most of your stomach and the first section of your small intestine, and instead enters directly into the middle part of your small intestine. Surgery usually takes a few hours. After surgery, you awaken in a recovery room, where medical staff monitors you for any complications.
Where do they cut you for gastric bypass?
Weight-loss surgery is also called bariatric surgery. Its often done as a laparoscopic surgery, with small incisions in the abdomen. This surgery reduces the size of your upper stomach to a small pouch about the size of an egg. The surgeon does this by stapling off the upper section of the stomach.
First, the surgeon makes a small stomach pouch by stapling part of the stomach together or by vertical banding. This limits how much food you can eat. Next, the surgeon attaches a Y-shaped section of the small intestine to the pouch. That creates a bypass for food, so it skips part of your digestive system.
How serious is gastric bypass surgery?
As with any surgery, gastric bypass carries some risks. Complications of surgery include infection, blood clots, and internal bleeding. Another risk is an anastomosis. This is a new connection created in your intestines and stomach during the bypass surgery that will not fully heal and will leak.