My Gastric bypass

Well, YES, I did it.... on November 2005, I had a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. This procedure involves creating a stomach pouch out of a small portion of the stomach and attaching it directly to the small intestine, bypassing a large part of the stomach and duodenum. Not only is the stomach pouch too small to hold large amounts of food, but by skipping the duodenum, fat absorption is substantially reduced.

In normal digestion, food passes through the stomach and enters the small intestine, where most of the nutrients and calories are absorbed. It then passes into the large intestine (colon), and the remaining waste is eventually excreted.

In a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, the stomach is made smaller by creating a small pouch at the top of the stomach using surgical staples or a plastic band. The smaller stomach is connected directly to the middle portion of the small intestine (jejunum), bypassing the rest of the stomach and the upper portion of the small intestine (duodenum).

This procedure can be done by making a large incision in the abdomen (an open procedure) or by making a small incision and using small instruments and a camera to guide the surgery (laparoscopic approach). (Click here to see an actual Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass for Morbid Obesity procedure) Warning, very graphic.

I opted for the laparoscopic operation. It is more expensive because the surgeon has to be specially trained and the tools needed are also expensive.

I had to do it overseas, because my health insurance does not cover the operation, and it is getting very hard for insurance companies to pay for it... Here in Florida, it is almost impossible.