There are two types of gastrointestinal surgical procedures. They are categorized based on the way the go about helping in weight loss. The two types are:

• Restrictive gastrointestinal procedures
• Malabsorptive gastrointestinal procedures

We will now discuss both these in detail.

Restrictive Gastrointestinal Procedures

The restrictive gastrointestinal procedure creates a small stomach pouch. This pouch is created in the upper regions of the stomach.

This is how the pouch works. The pouch does not stay in isolation inside the stomach. It is connected to the other larger stomach area through an opening called the stoma. Since the size of the pouch is small, it has a holding capacity of just about 15 to 20 ml. So as soon as the patient consumes 15 to 20 ml of food, he feels sated.

Thus with these reduced doses of food, a person’s weight is brought under control. One important aspect of the restrictive gastrointestinal surgical procedure is that it doesn’t reduce the amount of area available to absorb food, it reduces the appetite of the patient.

Here you must understand that just creating the pouch is not going to work. The patient has to be very strict in adhering to the diet prescribed after the surgical procedure. If he does not do that, he will be stuck with a short pouch, with no change in his body weight.

Overeating, or eating highly enriched food, is going to stretch the pouch, rendering it basically ineffective, as a stretched pouch will allow more intake of food.

The most popular restrictive gastrointestinal procedures are:

Vertical Banded Gastroplasty (VBG)

This is the most popularly used type of gastrointestinal procedure. It involves using a band and staples to create a small stomach pouch in the upper stomach area.

Adjustable Gastric Banding (AGB)

This involves, as the name suggests, placing an adjustable band in the stomach, so that a small pouch is created in the upper regions of the stomach. The band is made of some specialized material, and can be inflated using a salt solution.

Inflating the band reduces the size of the pouch created, and by inflating or deflating it, you can regulate the size of the pouch. The band is adjustable, i.e. over time you can increase or decrease its size to correctly regulate the amount of food intake, depending on the situation.

The benefits are there for all to see. Reduced size of the pouch means reduced holding area for food, which in turn means you will feel uncomfortable once you cross the given quantity prescribed. This means the chances of weight loss are very high.

Weight may be put back on

However, with this form of surgical procedure, there are chances that the person may put back on the weight he lost. This can happen easily, if the stomach pouch becomes elastic and stretchable.

There are other negative sides to this procedure as well. Inability to properly chew the food may cause it to be stuck inside the pouch, causing the patient to feel nauseated.

Infection and complications can cause death, though this is very rarely seen; in fact in less than one percent of all restrictive gastrointestinal procedures. It is also highly possible that the band slips from its original location, again rendering it dysfunctional.

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