Dr. John DeBarros explains the difference between LAP-BAND® and gastric bypass surgeries and discusses why weight loss stabilizes after two years in gastric bypass patients. Dr. DeBarros is devoted to a comprehensive surgical weight loss management program that emphasizes caring as part of the journey to restored health at Banner Estrella Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
Dr. DeBarros:
That’s very simple. A LAP-BAND® is a device that is a purely restrictive device. So it restricts the amount of food that you can take in. So you eat; food goes into this upper portion of the stomach here and it will restrict or decrease the amount of intake based on how much fluid and how much actual fluid we have in the band, which will restrict the size, the opening of this inlet into the remaining portion of the stomach. That’s all a band does, okay?
And a gastric bypass is a different procedure. A gastric bypass is also a restrictive procedure, however it adds what’s called a malabsorptive component, which we bring up a limb of intestine and we divide the stomach here and so it has sort of the same sized pouch as a LAP-BAND®, however that limb of intestine is sutured directly to the gastric pouch, okay? That’s called the gastroduodenal anastomosis.
Then we re-route that down distally and we attach it to the small intestine again so that everything is sort of running through. So in a gastric bypass your native stomach remains intact. We do not remove the stomach; we just attach a limb of intestine up here. The stomach is completely separated, but the intestine is attached there so when you eat, food goes into the small pouch, which is about the same size of a band and then goes, instead of trickling into the stomach, it trickles into the small intestine and down through the small intestine there’s an area where you actually cannot absorb the calories because it’s a shorter route. Now we have created a shorter, a quicker transit from the actual stomach to the colon, so that area is bypassed. So you get an additional way to lose weight.
So typically gastric bypass weight loss is much more rapid and sustained than LAP-BAND®. However, gastric bypass weight loss typically resolves in about two years and most people stabilize their weight in about two years.
The reason why the gastric bypass patients’ weight stabilize in a couple of years is because A, they have lost a majority of their body mass and the body will then sort of use its metabolism and slow it appropriately to sort of compensate with the actual food intake. So after a couple of years the body will sort of equilibrate.
Now, gastric bypass patients, just like any surgical procedure patient, including LAP-BAND®, can regain their weight again, okay?
And the way they do it is you eat and you stretch the upper portion of your stomach, so you will actually stretch this pouch until it becomes so large it is the same size as your native stomach or half the size of your native stomach and then what will happen is it will just create a reservoir for more food and you get hungry and you eat again. And that’s why programs are so important. Having a program we can catch these things prior to starting. That’s why surgery is only half the battle; programs are the other half of the battle.
About Dr. John J. DeBarros, M.D., F.A.C.S.:
Dr. John DeBarros is an experienced surgeon and board certified by the American Board of Surgery and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is a member of The American Society of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgeons, The American College of Surgeons, The Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons and the Maricopa Medical Society.
Keywords:
Condition: Obesity Morbid Obesity, Weight Loss, Morbidly Obese
Related Terms: Bariatric Surgery, Adjustable Gastric Band Procedure, Comorbidities, Nutrition, BMI, Weight Loss, Body Mass Index, LAP-BAND®, Gastric Bypass Surgery
Health Care Provider: Banner Hospital, Banner Medical Center, Banner Bariatric, Banner Estrella Medical Center, Banner Health, Banner Bariatric Center
Location: Phoenix, AZ, Arizona, Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, 85037
Expert: Dr. John J. DeBarros, Dr. DeBarros, John J. DeBarros, M.D., Doctor DeBarros, Bariatric Surgery John DeBarros
Expertise: Weight Management, Restorative Health, Bariatric Surgery, Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery, LAP-BAND®, Adjustable Gastric Band, Gastric Bypass Surgery