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Results
By Mayo Clinic staffGastric bypass and other bariatric surgeries can provide long-term weight loss. The amount of weight you lose depends on your type of surgery and your change in lifestyle habits. It may be possible to lose half, or even more, of your excess weight within two years.
In addition to weight loss, gastric bypass surgery may improve or resolve conditions often related to being overweight, including:
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Severe sleep apnea
- Type 2 diabetes
- Stroke
Gastric bypass surgery can also improve your ability to perform routine daily activities, which could help improve your quality of life.
When weight-loss surgery doesn't work
Gastric bypass and other weight-loss surgeries don't always work as well as you might have hoped. For one thing, although rare, something during or after the procedure itself may go wrong. For instance, the adjustable band may fail to work properly. If a weight-loss procedure doesn't work right or stops working, you may not lose weight and you may develop serious health problems. Keep all of your scheduled follow-up appointments after weight-loss surgery. If you notice that you aren't losing weight or you develop complications, see your doctor immediately. Your weight loss can be monitored and factors potentially contributing to your lack of weight loss evaluated.
It's also possible to not lose enough weight or to regain weight after any type of weight-loss surgery, even if the procedure itself works correctly. This weight gain can happen if you don't follow the recommended lifestyle changes. To help avoid regaining weight, you must make permanent healthy changes in your diet and get regular physical activity and exercise. If you frequently snack on high-calorie foods, for instance, you may have inadequate weight loss.
- American Gastroenterological Association. American Gastroenterological Association medical position statement on obesity. Gastroenterology. 2002;123:879.
- Bariatric surgery for severe obesity. National Institute on Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/PDFs/gasurg12.04bw.pdf. Accessed Aug. 20, 2011.
- Jones D, et al. Surgical management of severe obesity. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 15, 2011.
- Jones D, et al. Complications of bariatric surgery. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 15, 2011.
- Kushner RF, et al. Medical management of patients after bariatric surgery. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 15, 2011.
- FDA expands use of banding system for weight loss. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm245617.htm. Accessed June 9, 2011.
- Mechanick J, et al. American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the Obesity Society, and American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery medical guidelines for clinical practice for the perioperative nutritional, metabolic, and nonsurgical support of the bariatric surgery patient. Obesity. 2009;17(suppl):S1.
- Collazo-Clavell ML (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic. Rochester, Minn. Sept. 7, 2011.
- Sarr MG (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Sept. 16, 2011.
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