Gastric bypass - bariatric surgery

Gastric bypass - through it the stomach is "bypassed" when food enters the digestive system. It avoids the absorption of calories from part of the small intestine and provides direct access of food to the stomach enzymes to quickly break it down.

In whom is bariatric surgery applied?

• overweight and severely obese people with BMI > 35/40
• elderly people having difficulty with adherence to a strict diet and exercise
• young people over 14-15 years of age whose health is at risk due to uncontrollable obesity
• all overweight people who have unsuccessful weight loss attempts of at least 6 months

Before gastric bypass surgery:

It is important to have a consultation with the metabolic surgery specialist who will assess your general condition. It is necessary, before undertaking surgery, to have already established a balanced diet, with reduced calories and eliminated unhealthy eating habits. No alcohol or smoking! It is a good idea to reduce your fat intake to maximally cleanse the fatty internal organs and in particular the liver. According to your general condition, co-morbidities and required result, the specialist will determine which method is best for you.

Duration of the procedure:

• With gastric bypass, the same is true with regard to anesthesia. The duration of the operation is about 1-2 hours.

Possible side effects and risks:

Let us emphasize that the development of these complications depends entirely on personal care after surgery. It is important to follow your doctor's recommendations regarding diet and gastric hygiene.

• nausea and dizziness
• drop in blood sugar levels
• ulcer development
• lack of essential nutrients

Gastric bypass - recovery period:

The hospital stay is about 1-3 days depending on the methodology. The first 2 days feeding is intravenous and from day 3 you start with liquid food for 2 weeks. For the next 2 weeks the food is mush, then you move on to solid food feeding. Full recovery with good care by the patient comes after about 4-6 weeks.