Roux-en-Y gastric bypass

Gastric bypass surgery
A diagram of a gastric bypass (Roux en-Y).
ICD-9-CM	44.31-44.39
MeSH	D015390
MedlinePlus	007199
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Gastric bypass surgery refers to a surgical procedure in which the stomach is divided into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower "remnant" pouch and then the small intestine is rearranged to connect to both. Surgeons have developed several different ways to reconnect the intestine, thus leading to several different gastric bypass (GBP) procedures. Any GBP leads to a marked reduction in the functional volume of the stomach, accompanied by an altered physiological and physical response to food.

The operation is prescribed to treat morbid obesity (defined as a body mass index greater than 40), type 2 diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, and other comorbid conditions. Bariatric surgery is the term encompassing all of the surgical treatments for morbid obesity, not just gastric bypasses, which make up only one class of such operations. The resulting weight loss, typically dramatic, markedly reduces comorbidities. The long-term mortality rate of gastric bypass patients has been shown to be reduced by up to 40%. As with all surgery, complications may occur. A study from 2005 to 2006 revealed that 15% of patients experience complications as a result of gastric bypass, and 0.5% of patients died within six months of surgery due to complications.

Gastric bypass is indicated for the surgical treatment of morbid obesity, a diagnosis which is made when the patient is seriously obese, has been unable to achieve satisfactory and sustained weight loss by dietary efforts, and suffers from comorbid conditions which are either life-threatening or a serious impairment to the quality of life.

Prior to 1991, clinicians interpreted serious obesity as weighing at least 100 pounds (45 kg) more than the "ideal body weight", an actuarially-determined body-weight at which one was estimated to be likely to live the longest, as determined by the life-insurance industry. This criterion failed for persons of short stature.

In 1991, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored a consensus panel whose recommendations have set the current^[update] standard for consideration of surgical treatment, the body mass index (BMI). The BMI is defined as the body weight (in kilograms), divided by the square of the height (in meters). The result is expressed as a number in units of kilograms per square meter. In healthy adults, BMI ranges from 18.5 to 24.9, with a BMI above 30 being considered obese, and a BMI less than 18.5 considered underweight. (BMI is by itself not a reliable index of obesity: serious bodybuilders or strength athletes have BMIs in the obesity range while having relatively little body fat.)