Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass
Expert bariatric surgeons at the Center for Weight Management and Metabolic Health use minimally invasive surgical techniques to reroute the digestive system and help you lose weight.
What Is Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery?
Gastric bypass is a common type of weight loss surgery that:
- Reduces the stomach from the size of a football to the size of an egg
- Connects the new small stomach to the middle of the small intestines
How Does Gastric Bypass Work?
Gastric bypass surgery helps you lose weight by:
- Restricting the amount of food your stomach can hold
- Limiting the absorption of nutrients
- Changing your hunger hormones to make you less hungry
Gastric Bypass Procedure
During the procedure, we reroute the digestive tract. We create a new, egg-sized pouch from the stomach. We then connect the new pouch to the middle of the small intestine, bypassing the first part of the small intestine.
Minimally Invasive Gastric Bypass
Surgeons at Cedars-Sinai use minimally invasive techniques whenever possible. We offer laparoscopic and robotic gastric bypass surgery.
We make several small incisions and insert cameras. We then use tiny instruments to reroute the digestive system so that it bypasses part of the small intestine. Laparoscopic and robotic surgery can reduce pain, blood loss and recovery time.
Digestion After Gastric Bypass
After gastric bypass surgery, when you eat, small amounts of food travel from the new pouch to the middle of the small intestine. You will:
- Feel full after eating less, because the stomach can now hold less food
- Absorb fewer calories and nutrients, because food now bypasses part of the small intestine
What to Expect After Gastric Bypass Surgery
After Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, you may stay in the hospital for one to two days. You can expect to:
- Get up and move: We ask you to start walking immediately after surgery. Studies have shown that the sooner you're up and walking, the sooner you feel better. Once you leave the hospital, we encourage regular, low-intensity exercise to improve your recovery. Step trackers are a great way to keep up with your exercise.
- Maintain a temporary liquid diet: After surgery, you will progress from a strictly liquid diet back to solid foods. Our dietitians help you plan your meals, so you know what to expect.
After gastric bypass surgery, your health will improve:
- Fewer complications from excess weight: Some conditions, such as Type 2 diabetes, respond immediately to weight loss surgery, even before you've started losing weight. During the first few months after surgery, other weight-related complications improve or resolve, including hypertension, osteoarthritis and sleep apnea.
- Lose weight: Let's not forget—you will lose weight! You can expect to lose an average of 70% of your excess body weight in the first year after surgery. So, if you are 100 pounds overweight, on average, you can expect to lose 70 pounds.
Have Questions or Need Help?
To make an appointment or refer a patient, call us or send a message to the Weight Loss Program. You can also have us call you back at your convenience.