Before starting your weight loss journey, it’s helpful to understand the range of procedures available to you and what’s involved. At Healthier Weight, during your free consultation, our expert surgeons will discuss the range of surgical options we offer and help you determined the best fit for your circumstances. So, let’s talk about it, starting with the Gastric Bypass.
What is a bypass?
The goal of a gastric bypass is to reduce the size of your stomach, which restricts how much you can eat. A gastric bypass also affects your appetite and hunger levels. The procedure effectively reduces the size of your stomach, with your new smaller stomach connected directly to your small intestine through a tunnel constructed by your surgeon, thus ‘bypassing’ the rest of your stomach. The most common type of bypass procedure is the Roux-en-y gastric bypass.
The One Anastamosis Bypass (OAGB) or ‘mini’ bypass has become popular more recently as an alternative option to the Roux-en-Y. This procedure works in the same way and offers the same benefits, but involves less re-routing of the bowel. This in turn means the procedure takes less time and can reduce the risk of complications. Whilst it can often be referred to as a mini bypass, it’s worth noting that the procedure is no less significant an operation and the results are excellent for the majority of patients. As we like to say, it’s mini by name, not by nature.
How does it work?
An OAGB is performed through what is called a ‘keyhole surgery’. This essentially means the surgery is minimally invasive as it doesn’t involve any large incisions. There are a total of 3-5 incisions, through which your surgeon will then staple the stomach into 2 parts and position the smaller portion of the stomach to the small intestines, all within the space of 40-60 minutes.
The difference between a mini (OAGB) bypass and a full (Roux en y) gastric bypass?
The key difference between a full gastric bypass and an OAGB is in the number of joins between the stomach and bowel. A Roux-en-y gastric bypass has two of these ‘joins’ – upper and lower. An OAGB bypass has only one join and involves less rerouting of the intestine, lowering the risk of complications, such as internal hernias.
How much weight can you expect to lose?
At Healthier Weight, we expect our patients who have had an OAGB to lose at least 60-70% of their excess weight over the time period of 2 years, with the majority being lost within the first 12 months.
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