Looking for surgical options for weight loss? A procedure known as Vertical banded gastroplasty, or VBG for short is one such option.

In this procedure, the stomach is partitioned into two with staples and fitted with a plastic band to limit the amount of food that the stomach can hold.  Food then begins to empty from the upper pouch to the lower pouch through the small opening which was created by the banding.  This popular surgical procedure is part of a relatively new surgical subspecialty called Bariatric surgery.

Vertical banded gastroplasty may also be performed with the laparoscopic approach using precision small instruments and a camera, however this requires the selection of a competent surgeon with proper training in the laparoscopic approach. Of course it should be noted that going the laparoscopic way means that it does not require an incision and thus no scars. However, currently in the US, most of the VBG’s are still being carried out with open surgery.

The risks and complications are similar with Lap-Band surgery. It should also be noted that there may be long term risks involved. Studies have shown that patients who have had VBG are more likely to regain the lost weight as compared to those who have had gastric bypass surgery.  This happens as people get adjusted to the smaller stomach and tend to eat food with a high calorie content.  The statistics from a follow up study are not encouraging showing that up to 80% of patients were unable to keep off the weight 10 years down the road.

As the term implies, Roux-en-Y gastric by-pass surgery is a procedure where  your stomach is made smaller, and this smaller portion is connected directly to the jejunum so as to allow food to by-pass the rest of your stomach and your duodenum.

This procedure has a dual effect. This is because, not only will food intake be reduced as a result of feeling full ‘quickly’ when eating because of a smaller stomach, it also involves inducing some amount of malabsorbtion of the food on account of it by-passing the duodenum. Calorie intake will be reduced because of reduced intake as well as less absorption. This results with weight loss.

The Roux-en-Y surgical procedure can be performed with the laparoscopic approach using precision small instruments and a camera which guides the surgeon to perform the surgery.

As for the Roux-en-Y surgical procedure the complications are similar as the Lap-Band Surgical Procedure, however in this case there is the added danger of infection, leakage and nutritional deficiency. Another risk is called the “dumping syndrome” where food tends to pass through the stomach and small intestine too rapidly resulting in it being ‘dumped’.