Balance the Weight Loss Benefits of Gastric Bypass Surgery With the Associated Potential Risks

Gastric bypass surgery is a surgical procedure in which a portion of the stomach is closed off. Therefore, after gastric bypass surgery food bypass a part of the stomach. You eat less because your stomach gets fuller quicker. You eat less and consume less weight producing calories. If the surgery also includes bypassing a part of the intestine, you can lose even more weight because the body does not absorb the food you do eat. Again, you get fewer calories. Gastric bypass surgery usually requires a four or five day hospital stay and a person is usually fully recovered with in a month or so. There are some after effects to gastric bypass surgery. It is generally called dumping. That occurs when the food passes too quickly through the stomach. Symptoms include nausea, weakness, sweating, faintness, and possibly diarrhea soon after eating. This procedure is usually done on people that meet the following conditions if you have been obese for five years or more, you may qualify. If you do not have a history of alcohol abuse and are between 18 and 65 years old, the doctor may consider gastric bypass surgery. In addition, you must not have an untreated depression or another major psychiatric disorder. Gastric bypass surgery does have some risks though. There are the normal risks associated with any surgery. These might include a blood clot that could lead to a stroke. A person might experience an infection. Some studies have shown that about one-third of all people having surgery for obesity develop gallstones or a nutritional deficiency condition such as anemia or osteoporosis. The benefits of gastric bypass surgery are almost immediate weight loss. People who have gastric bypass surgery tend to continue to lose weight for the first 12 months. Long-term weight loss benefits look like this. One study found that most people lost one-third of their excess weight in one to four years after the surgery procedure. There are some other things to be concerned with a gastric bypass surgery. Doctors tell us that the part of the intestine where many minerals and vitamins are most easily absorbed is bypassed. Because of this, you may have a deficiency in iron, calcium, magnesium, or vitamins. As with other elective surgery, you have to balance the weight loss benefits of gastric bypass surgery with the potential risks.