How Does Weight Loss Surgery Reduce Obesity?
Gastrointestinal surgery for obesity, also
called bariatric surgery, alters the digestive process. The operations
promote weight loss by closing off parts of the stomach to make it smaller.
Operations that only reduce stomach size are known as “restrictive
operations” because they restrict the amount of food the stomach
can hold.
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Some operations
combine stomach restriction with a partial bypass of the small intestine.
These procedures create a direct connection from the stomach to the
lower segment of the small intestine, literally bypassing portions
of the digestive tract that absorb calories and nutrients. These are
known as "malabsorptive operations."
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Restrictive operations lead to weight loss
in almost all patients, but they are less successful than malabsorptive
operations in achieving substantial, long-term weight loss.
For more information about weight loss
surgical operations (including diagrams) see below.
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