Types of Bariatric Surgery

There are several different bariatric surgery options available to patients today. These options can include predominantly malabsorptive procedures like the gastric bypass or Lap Band and it can also include biliopancreatic diversion and gastroplasty. To help understand the differences between the choices in bariatric surgery we need to separate them into classifications.

The predominantly malabsorptive surgeries although they include a size reduction of the stomach their main goal is the creation of malabsorption. Malabsorption means that they are preventing the body from absorbing nutrients. This is why the gastric bypass includes a rerouting of the intestines.

The duodenal switch was developed as a replacement to the biliopancreatic diversion surgery which had certain malnourishment risks associated with it. Although the biliopancreatic diversion procedure has been replaced it is still available but only done on very rare occasions. In this procedure unlike the gastric bypass, the stomach is only separated into 2 parts which means that within a few weeks the patient can return to a fat free diet. This procedure has a high rate of malabsorption and requires the intake of vitamin supplements. In many cases the gall bladder may also be removed as a means of preventing gallstones.

There is also the vertical banded gastroplasty in which the stomach is separated into two parts, except in this version there is a band placed on the part that the food will flow through. It is this procedure that has been most commonly referred to as stomach stapling although many people call all of the bariatric surgeries stomach stapling.

You then of course have the adjustable band surgery in which the Lap-Band procedure falls under. In this procedure an adjustable band is placed around the stomach and filled with a saline solution in order control the amount of food that can be digested in any give time.

There are many more options available and you can even have procedures which are a combination of several operations at one time. There is even a gastrostimulation procedure in which a device that is similar to a pacemaker is attached to the gastrointestinal tract as a means to further help the patient to loose his or her weight. For more options it is suggested to speak to a surgeon at a bariatric clinic as this surgeon will be able to explain the differences between the procedures in more depth.