The simpler term for gastric bypass is ‘stomach stapling’, and its purpose is to make you eat less. It works to achieve extreme weight loss by creating a small pouch in the stomach through stapling up parts of it, in order to reduce the amount of food you can consume. If you could earlier consume the big triple burger meal, post-stomach stapling you will probably only manage a cup of tea. Your body is consuming less calories and the pouch allows digestive processes to bypass the small intestine, so that nutrients from food aren’t absorbed.

Is it for you?

If you’re just looking to lose weight in specific areas, you could try liposuction or a tummy tuck; a gastric bypass is for those 100-pounds-overweight who have unsuccessfully tried to diet. Patients are typically between 15 and 65 and need to understand the psychological risks involved in coping with what could be an entirely changed body image. Obesity can be dangerous and this makes the gastric bypass an essential surgery for many people, not just a cosmetic one.

No pain, no gain

Stomach stapling, although simple-sounding, is a complex surgery and you need to be prepared for possible pain, major swelling and post-operation hospitalization. Many of the nutrients that you take in with your food are not absorbed after stomach stapling; in the long run this could make you anemic. Later, it could put you at risk for osteoporosis and bone diseases. You might need to regularly take pills or dietary supplements. Many patients of gastric bypass need to stay on special diets through their lives. After your stomach stapling surgery, foods rich in sugar and fat are likely to make you feel uncomfortable.

Small and constant

Gastric bypass will change the way you eat pretty permanently. Instead of the few big meals that you might have been used to, after stomach stapling you will find yourself needing to eat perhaps eight or nine small meals a day. The surgically created pouch doesn’t allow you to eat food and drink a liquid at the same time: you can do one or the other.

Things that could go wrong

There are additional risks as well, one of which is the possibility that the pouch could stretch and expand to the original size of the stomach. The food pouch grows to twice its capacity in just two months and it’s possible that it might stretch further. The stomach stapling could come apart, having the same effect: stomach expansion to original size. If there are leakages, the acid content from the stomach could leak onto other organs, damaging them seriously. Also, if the contents of the stomach move too quickly through the small intestine, you might find yourself reeling from nausea, perspiration, and diarrhea and so on. Patients sometimes develop gall stones and develop complications such as hernia which need further follow-up operations; remember that corrective procedures come with their own risks.

Chiseling away

After the extreme weight loss surgery, you might be 100-200 pounds lighter, but you’ll still have skin enough for the big size that you once were. Gastric bypass usually needs to be followed by some kind of body contouring procedure for excess skin removal. This is an additional cost that you might not have factored in when considering stomach stapling, but it’s likely to crop up. The body contouring surgery also has some risks and requirements needed, so before deciding on the gastric bypass, you should probably consider the body contouring too.

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