Allison Herries, RDN, is a registered dietitian for a telehealth company. In her role, she provides nutrition education and counseling to help her clients set and reach their personal health goals.
In most cases, at least one of the blood vessels used as a bypass graft is an artery from your chest called the internal mammary artery. Blood vessels such as a vein from your legs and sometimes an artery from your arms are used for the other grafts.
Most patients need at least two weeks off work, but the length will be determined by consultation with your surgeon and your individual progress.
The key is to never stop seeing them. The importance of this cannot be understated and needs to be repeated: the key is to never stop seeing them
You may want to visit with a counselor to make sure you are emotionally ready for this surgery. You must be able to make major changes in your lifestyle after surgery.
The second step is the bypass. Your surgeon connects a part of your small intestine (the jejunum) to a small hole in your pouch. The food you eat will now travel from the pouch into this new opening and into your small intestine below where it would normally go, thus bypassing part of your small intestine. As a result, your body will absorb fewer calories.
Open surgery, which involves a single, large cut in the abdomen, may be a better option than laparoscopic surgery for certain people. You may need open surgery if you have a high level of obesity, had stomach surgery before, or have other complex medical problems.
After you are completely asleep, all the equipment needed to help support you during the surgery and in your early recovery are put in place.
A surgeon staples top part of the stomach, creating a small pouch, and attaches it to the middle part of the small intestine.
Weight loss surgery is a serious consideration, not a quick fix or an easy option. It is part of a lifelong weight management programme that makes it realistic to lose weight and maintain it afterwards.
A specialist doctor (called an anaesthetist) gives you the medicine before the surgery starts and stays with you to make sure you have enough to keep you asleep.
The stomach is stapled, creating a small pouch in the upper section, which causes you to feel full more quickly and eat less.
Losing fast weight loss weight and bringing your blood glucose—also known as blood sugar—levels closer to normal before surgery may lower your chances of having surgery-related problems.
Classes to help you learn what happens during the surgery, what you should expect afterward, and what risks or problems may occur afterward.