What is gastric bypass?
Gastric bypass is a surgery that can help you lose weight if changing your eating habits and exercise don't produce the results you need.
In this procedure, Dr. Mullangi essentially reduces the size of your stomach. This limits the amount of food you can comfortably hold and allows you to eat less but still feel satisfied.
Studies show that patients lose over 34% of their body weight on average in the first year after gastric bypass surgery. Many people lose 70% or more of their extra weight within two years.
Gastric bypass can give you the tools you need to lose weight, improve your health, and make a permanent lifestyle change.
What happens in gastric bypass surgery?
In the most common kind of gastric bypass surgery, Roux-en-Y, Dr. Mullangi sections part of your stomach into an egg-sized pouch.
He connects this new stomach pouch to the middle part of your small intestine. This skips most of your stomach and also the upper part of your small intestine, which limits calorie and nutrient absorption.
Dr. Mullangi commonly performs gastric bypass surgery and other weight loss surgeries using a robotic or laparoscopic approach, which means he makes very small incisions. It also allows for faster recovery, less scarring, reduced infection risk, less bleeding, and less pain.
Is gastric bypass surgery right for me?
Dr. Mullangi evaluates you during a physical exam and discusses your needs with you in detail to determine whether this procedure could help you meet your weight loss goals. In general, you may qualify if you have:
- Body mass index (BMI) of 40 or greater
- BMI of 35 or greater with weight-related health issues
- History of failed weight loss attempts
- History of weight gain after weight loss
Of course, one of the most important qualifiers is your own attitude. To have gastric bypass surgery, you must commit to major lifestyle changes.
For example, in the beginning you'll follow a liquid diet and then transition into a pureed and soft food diet. You’ll also need daily multivitamins or other supplements to help combat nutrient loss.
You can't return to your old eating habits after gastric bypass, but you get tremendous rewards for this change.
What are the benefits of gastric bypass surgery?
Gastric bypass surgery could help you lose the majority of your extra weight. Being thinner and more physically comfortable is incredibly freeing, but it's only one advantage.
You can dramatically reduce the risk of weight-related issues like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). You may even be able to achieve remission of type 2 diabetes. Gastric bypass surgery and the resulting weight loss can also alleviate chronic joint pain.
Learn more about how gastric bypass can help you to get healthy by calling the office of Siva Prasad Mullangi, MD, or clicking the scheduling link now.
