Gastric Bypass Surgery Revision to Resize the Stomach Pouch
Gastric bypass surgery remains one of the most well-known and effective options out there for people who suffer from morbid obesity. The team at Tijuana Bariatrics has helped countless patients lose weight and lead healthier lives thanks to this surgery.
Sometimes gastric bypass surgery does not work as well as intended, however. Patients may not lose all of the weight they were supposed to, hampering their journey to a better tomorrow. If this happens, bariatric surgery revision may be the answer. Let's explore these issues below.
Failure to Lose Weight After Gastric Bypass
After undergoing a gastric bypass, some patients fail to lose sufficient weight. This can be due to a host of factors, but primary among them is that the initial surgery did not do enough to reduce caloric consumption and/or caloric absorption. In these cases, patients can only lose so much weight during the surgical process, and they may fall well short of their weight loss goals.
When this occurs, it's important that patients consider undergoing a revision of the initial gastric bypass. This revision surgery can help promote further weight loss, allowing people suffer from obesity to lose sufficient weight.
How Bariatric Surgery Revision Works
During bariatric surgery revision, a second procedure is performed in order to alter the condition of the initial bariatric procedure. For a gastric sleeve, for example, a bariatric surgeon may perform the surgery again to resize the smaller stomach pouch. This will help reduce the amount of calories that can be consumed in a single sitting.
Resizing the stomach can also be done during a revision for gastric bypass surgery. This will reduce the amount of calories that can be eaten in a single sitting, and in the process help improve a patient's rate and total amount of weight loss. Sometimes a simple revision like this is all that's required to ensure the success of a gastric bypass.
Determining a Good Size for the Stomach Pouch Revision
When assessing the needs of the patient, it's important that the stomach pouch be resized properly. Being too conservative with the resizing might mean patients won't lose all of the weight that they should. However, being too drastic could lead to a number of serious health issues if surgeons aren't careful. Thanks to the years of expertise by our team, any resizing revisions will be done with great care and deliberation.
It's also possible that a surgeon may not believe that resizing alone is enough. In these cases, it may be a better option to perform a duodenal switch. This alteration to the gastric bypass can help patients lose the weight they need.
How Gastric Bypass Revision Is Performed
In essence, a revision gastric bypass is performed much like an initial gastric bypass, with surgeons using small incisions and state-of-the-art tools to alter the patient's stomach and digestive tract. Whenever possible, a revision surgery is performed using the same incision sites as the initial surgery. This limits the need for additional incisions and more scarring on the patient.
The Results of Gastric Bypass Revision
Many patients who undergo a gastric bypass revision finally experience the full benefits of bariatric surgery. These patients lose the extra weight that would not go away, and experience a healthy shedding of pounds over the next few months. Even if some weight comes back as it inevitably does, patients will be thinner, trimmer, and much healthier thanks to the revision procedure.
Learn More About Gastric Bypass Revision
If you would like more information about gastric bypass revision and how it can benefit you, be sure to contact a weight loss surgery specialist today. The team at Tijuana Bariatrics will be more than happy to discuss these matters in greater detail.