Gastric bypass is a surgery technique that allows for weight loss. Gastric bypass is also known as bariatric surgery or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Gastric bypass can promote significant weight loss in extremely obese individuals.

Gastric bypass is a surgical procedure that creates a smaller stomach. Gastric bypass lets food 'skip' the lower intestine. A gastric bypass patient will feel full more quickly because the stomach is now smaller than it was before the gastric bypass. And since the stomach is smaller, less calories are able to be taken in. As the name suggests, "gastric," or digestion, and "bypass," the food taken in will bypass a part of the digestion process after gastric bypass.

The most common gastric bypass surgery is called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. This gastric bypass surgery was named for its Swiss developer Roux. The gastric bypass procedure involves dividing the stomach into two sections with staples. The top past of the stomach in this part of the gastric bypass procedure will be the part that will hold consumed food. In the second step of gastric bypass, a gastric bypass surgeon connects a part of the small intestine to this new, smaller section of stomach. When a gastric bypass patient eats, the food will travel from the stomach pouch and through this new connection, in gastric bypass terms, "Roux Limb." In the gastric bypass, the gastric bypass surgeon will connect the base of the Roux limb with the remainder of the small intestine, making a Y shape.

Gastric bypass can be performed laproscopically. This means that the gastric bypass technique is less invasive with smaller incisions. Small incisions are made in the gastric bypass patient's abdomen. During the gastric bypass, the gastric bypass surgeon places slender instruments into these incisions. With a camera (a laproscope), the gastric bypass surgeon is able to navigate the gastric bypass surgery and perform it with the instruments.

Gastric bypass sounds like a simple and effective procedure to help with obesity. However, there are risks to consider with gastric bypass. Life after the gastric bypass surgery can be an adjustment. The gastric bypass does not allow large amounts of food to be eaten, so the behavior of the gastric bypass patient must change. Prior to and following the gastric bypass, extensive nutritional gastric bypass counseling is given to the gastric bypass patient for life after the gastric bypass surgery.

Gastric bypass also involves risks. After gastric bypass surgery, a gastric bypass patient might be prone to infection or a blood clot. Exclusive to gastric bypass, risks include leakage into the abdomen, formation of gallstones, and nutritional deficiency after the gastric bypass.

With these risks in mind, gastric bypass is not an easy task. The gastric bypass surgery takes several hours. The gastric bypass patient may experience vomiting. When the gastric bypass patient follows new eating guidelines, the gastric bypass is a successful procedure. It causes weight loss that a gastric bypass patient needs to be healthy.