Development of Gastroplasty & Gastric
Bypass Bariatric Procedures
Weight Loss Gastrointestinal Surgery -
Origins
The concept of gastrointestinal surgery to
control obesity grew out of results of operations for cancer or severe ulcers
that removed large portions of the stomach or small intestine.
|
|
Because patients undergoing these
procedures tended to lose weight after surgery, some physicians
began to use such operations to treat severe obesity. The first
operation that was widely used for severe obesity was the intestinal
bypass. This operation, first used 40 years ago, produced weight
loss by causing malabsorption.
|
The idea was that patients could eat large amounts of food, which would
be poorly digested or passed along too fast for the body to absorb many
calories. The problem with this surgery was that it caused a loss of essential
nutrients and its side effects were unpredictable and sometimes fatal. The
original form of the intestinal bypass operation is no longer used. |
|
|
com