Deciding between a gastric bypass and a mini gastric bypass can be challenging, as both procedures offer unique benefits for long-term weight loss. Understanding the differences between these surgeries is crucial for making an informed decision. This comprehensive guide will help you navigate the pros and cons of each option, ensuring you choose the best path for your health and weight loss journey. Read on to discover everything you need to know about gastric bypasses and mini gastric bypasses.
What’s The Difference Between A Gastric Bypass And A Mini Gastric Bypass?
A gastric bypass and a mini gastric bypass are two bariatric procedures used to improve the lives of patients worldwide.
But which one is more effective, and how do you know whether a traditional gastric bypass or a mini gastric bypass is the right choice for you?
Today we’re going to discuss everything to do with gastric bypasses and help you decide whether it’s the right option for you and your body.
Bariatric surgery is a great way to help patients get to their optimum weight and feel happier about their bodies. Still, it’s natural to have questions about the complex surgical processes.
It’s essential to get your facts straight before opting in for any surgery, which is why our team has put together this guide on gastric bypasses to help you learn everything you need to know about the procedure.
Your health and safety always come first, so take a look at our guide and learn what you need to know about the gastric bypass procedure and the mini gastric bypass.
What is a gastric bypass?
A gastric bypass (commonly known as the Roux-En-Y gastric bypass) is an incredibly popular choice of bariatric surgery and has a proven record of helping patients with their weight loss journey!
With a traditional gastric bypass, there are two main steps:
1. A bariatric surgeon reduces the size of the functional part of the patient’s stomach. They make the stomach smaller, so the food intake is limited, helping the patient lose weight at a faster pace.
2. The bypass part of the operation occurs when the surgeon connects the new smaller stomach to the section of the small intestine. It’s called a bypass because it bypasses a portion of your small intestine and the other area of your stomach.
After the bypass is complete, patients will start to lose a lot of their excess weight in two ways.
1. Restrictive weight loss
This is the weight loss that occurs when the stomach’s ability to hold food is restricted. The smaller stomach pouch makes you feel full quickly, so by limiting the amount of food you eat with a gastric bypass, you’ll be able to lose weight rapidly.
2. Malabsorptive weight loss
Our bodies take energy from the food we eat, and our stomach and our intestines perform many complex operations to ensure we get this energy from our food. By having a gastric bypass, you’re reducing the amount of time food spends in your stomach and intestine. This means you’ll extract fewer calories from the food, helping you lose weight.
What are the benefits of a gastric bypass?
There are a lot of benefits to a gastric bypass, but the most significant advantage is that it promotes weight loss. A gastric bypass will help you lose weight in the short term and long term.
What’s a mini gastric bypass?
Mini gastric bypass surgery is similar traditional gastric bypass surgery, but it’s a less invasive method of carrying out the surgery. The term “mini” refers to the surgery being minimally invasive rather than being a smaller version of the traditional gastric bypass.
There is also less intestinal rerouting with the mini gastric bypass when compared to the traditional option. The mini gastric bypass has a shorter procedure and carries fewer risks than the regular gastric bypass. Less time in theatre, less complications and a faster recovery are the main differences from a safety perspective.
A mini gastric bypass still allows for both restrictive and malabsorption weight loss too, and it has a slightly shorter recovery period. There are fewer steps in the procedure which means there’s a lower chance of complications occurring.
In multiple studies the weight loss results with a mini gastric bypass have been proven to be very similar to that of the traditional gastric bypass (within approx. 5% of each other).
What are the benefits of a mini gastric bypass?
The main benefits of a mini gastric bypass are that the results are almost on par with a traditional bypass, but the surgical procedure is shorter and less invasive. This means the recovery process is quicker, and there are fewer complications.
A mini gastric bypass has similar risks to a traditional gastric bypass, so there’s still a chance of infection, but the risks aren’t as common as the more complex procedure, meaning that the likelihood of running into them is much lower. In some studies, gastric bypass complication rates relating to the intestinal rerouting were halved by carrying out the mini gastric bypass instead.
What are the disadvantages of a traditional gastric bypass?
Every surgery or procedure has risks, and it’s essential to know the risks of your procedure before signing on to get it performed.
Here are three of the most common risks of a traditional gastric bypass:
1. Complications – Complications can occur during the procedure. This is why it’s crucial to have your surgery performed by an experienced bariatric surgeon.
2. Malnutrition – There’s a chance that a bypass might cause malnutrition. Malabsorption helps patients lose weight, but it also has side effects. The food digested is less effective and can weaken the body’s ability to get the needed vitamins and minerals from food. This can be fixed by taking regular supplements.
3. Irreversible – A gastric bypass is not reversible. This major surgery helps people lose weight and feel more comfortable in their bodies, but there is no way to reverse it. Patients should keep this in mind before deciding whether to go through with the procedure. The mini gastric bypass is a reversible procedure.
What are the disadvantages of a mini gastric bypass?
A mini gastric bypass also has a few risks or disadvantages to take into consideration. This surgery can have complications, but they are less frequent than with a regular bypass.
Two of the downsides to a mini gastric bypass include
1. Dumping syndrome – Dumping syndrome can still occur with a mini gastric bypass, but in most cases its to a much lesser extent than the traditional gastric bypass.
2. Less available – a mini gastric bypass is a relatively new procedure, so there are few doctors who have the experience necessary to perform it safely. However, here at Auralia, our bariatric surgeons can perform a mini-gastric bypass for you if that’s the procedure you’re looking to get done.
We hope our blog post has helped you figure out the differences between a gastric bypass and a mini-gastric bypass.
If you’d like to learn more about gastric bypasses or are concerned about any area of the procedure then feel free to contact a member of our talented team.
The team at Auralia has years of experience perfecting their surgical techniques and can provide you with the surgery you need to feel more confident about your body.
Book in for a free consultation today with our leading team of Irish cosmetic surgeons.
