Gastric Bypass

What is gastric bypass?

Gastric bypass, also called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, is a bariatric surgery that helps you lose a significant amount of weight by:

Reducing stomach size

After gastric bypass, the part of your stomach that receives food (gastric pouch) is about the size of a golf ball. As a result, you feel full after eating a very small amount of food.

Limiting food absorption

Gastric bypass surgery changes the flow of food through your digestive tract, making the foods you eat detour around the first part of your small intestine. Since calories are absorbed in the small intestine, bypassing it means your body takes in fewer calories than you consumed.

Balancing blood sugar

Gastric bypass has such a profound effect on blood sugar that Type 2 diabetes significantly improves or goes into remission. Diabetes often improves even before you lose weight because stabilizing your blood sugar promotes weight loss.

What happens during gastric bypass surgery?

For the first step in your gastric bypass, Dr. Schumacher separates the top part of your stomach from the rest of the organ. This creates a small, golf ball-sized stomach pouch that receives the foods you eat.

Next, Dr. Schumacher cuts the small intestine into two parts, leaving the upper half attached to the remaining stomach. He connects the bottom half to your new stomach pouch. This causes food to bypass the upper part of the intestine and go directly into the lower part, reducing the number of calories you absorb.

Then he takes the intestine still connected to your stomach and connects it to the lower part of your small intestine. This allows the digestive juices to mix with food for a short time near the end of the small intestine.

Is gastric bypass a minimally invasive procedure?

Dr. Schumacher specializes in performing minimally invasive gastric bypass surgery. He uses a laparoscope and surgical instruments that fit through small incisions. The laparoscope contains a video camera that sends images to a monitor, giving him a detailed view of your stomach.

Minimally invasive procedures result in less pain, a lower risk of complications, and a faster recovery.

Call Ohio Bariatrics and Laparoscopy or book an appointment online today to learn if you're a candidate for gastric bypass.