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Your stomach has been surgically removed.

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.

Your stomach has been cut out. A small section of the beginning of your small intestine was also removed. A section of your small intestine lower down was also removed. This piece of intestine was then stitched in between your oesophagus and the open upper end of your small intestine. This involved creating a sort of pouch that is to partially replace your stomach’s storage function.

So now, post-surgery, food passes through your oesophagus and the piece of intestine that has been stitched in to your small intestine. The aim of the additional piece of intestine is to prevent digestive juices from your liver or your pancreas from flowing back into your oesophagus. It also aims to prevent all the food getting into the small intestine when you taken in food.

The operation also involved removing some lymph nodes around your stomach or around other organs in your abdomen. The lymph nodes are small bean-shaped objects. They are found throughout the body. Lymph nodes filter the tissue fluid. They are part of the defense system.