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Your stomach has been surgically reduced in size.

The stomach is located in the upper left abdomen. The stomach stores food and breaks it down further. Harmful pathogens are also killed by gastric acid in the stomach. The stomach thus prepares the food for digestion in the intestines. and is connected to the gullet (oesophagus) at its upper end and with the first part of the small intestine at its lower end. There is a sphincter muscle between the stomach and the small intestine known as the pylorus.

The operation removed a large part of your stomach. Post-surgery, your stomach is narrower than it was. Because the shape of your stomach is now longish, this is known as a gastric sleeve. This has made your stomach’s capacity far less than it was previously.

Your small intestine was severed just after the pylorus. The open end at the top of your small intestine was then stitched shut. Your gastric sleeve was then stitched to a point lower down in your small intestine, just after your pylorus.

Post-surgery, food is now getting from your stomach straight to the part of your small intestine that is lower down. So food is no longer being moved through the top section of your small intestine. However, the digestive juices from your liver and pancreas are still flowing into that section of your small intestine. The digestive juices then blend with the food lower down in the small intestine.

As a result of the operation, food is passing through your intestine more quickly. So your body is absorbing fewer food components.

A laparoscopy was carried out so that you could be operated on. A laparoscopy first involves making a small incision in the abdomen. A tube with a camera is pushed through this incision into the abdomen. This camera sends pictures of the inside of the abdomen to a screen. Tools such as forceps and scissors can be inserted through other small incisions in the abdomen.