 How
Does Surgery Help Weight Loss?
In a gastric bypass surgery, surgical staples are used to
create a small pouch at the top of the stomach. Surgeons then
attach a part of the small intestine to the small newly created
pouch. When the person eats, food will go into the small pouch,
bypassing most of the stomach, then continue through the attached
part of small intestine and through the rest of the digestive
tract.
(Click the image to the right or here
for a larger view of the diagram).
This operation helps you to lose weight in three
ways:
- Reducing the amount of food you can eat. The small stomach
pouch created by surgery can only hold about 2 to 4 tablespoons
at a time. Also, the connection between this pouch and the
small intestine has a small opening, only 1/3 to ½
inch wide. These two factors drastically reduce the amount
of food that you can eat at one time.
Decreased ability of the body to absorb nutrients and calories.
Normally, the body absorbs some nutrients and calories when
food is in the stomach and small intestine. With these two
areas bypassed, the body has less ability to absorb digestive
material. The fewer calories the body absorbs, the greater
the weight loss.
- Appetite reduction. It is not well understood why, but
the surgical bypass interferes with the appetite regulation
process of the body. Although people eat less after surgery,
they also experience reduced hunger.
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