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You had a stomach bypass operation. Your stomach has been surgically reduced in size.

The stomach is located in the upper abdomen. The stomach has a curved shape, and is connected to the gullet (oesophagus) at its upper end and with the first part of the small intestine at its lower end. Between the stomach and the small intestine is a ring-shaped valve, the pylorus. The inside of the stomach is lined with mucous membrane. The aim of a stomach bypass operation is to reduce the stomach’s capacity. Then less food can be eaten than before.

Your stomach was severed, separating it into a large lower part and a small upper part. The large lower part was stitched up and left. No more food will get to it. The small upper part is your gastric pouch. It has been stitched to a point in the middle section of your small intestine.

Post-surgery, the food now goes from the small gastric pouch straight to the mid-section of your small intestine. Food no longer passes through the top section of your small intestine or the major part of your stomach. However, the digestive juices from your liver and pancreas are still flowing into that section of your small intestine. The digestive juices then only blend with the food in the mid-section of the small intestine.

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. The operation then involved opening your abdomen via a larger incision in your skin.