5-447.b0:

In the past you had gastric bypass surgery. Now, in another operation, your gastric bypass was changed.

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. The surgery should also result in you absorbing fewer nutrients from your food.

In gastric bypass surgery, at the entrance to the stomach, a small part of the stomach is severed from the rest of the stomach. The rest of the stomach is sewn up and left. No more food will then get to it. The small section at the entrance to the stomach is the gastric pouch. The gastric pouch is then connected, at the side, to a site lower down in the small intestine.

After gastric bypass surgery, food now goes from your gastric pouch straight to the part of your small intestine that is lower down. 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.

Now, in another operation, your gastric bypass was changed. For this purpose, your small intestine was severed at a certain point. The section of the small intestine below was then completely stitched to your gastric pouch. At the point that it was severed, the upper section of your small intestine was connected to a point further down in the small intestine. Post-surgery, the food continues to go from your gastric pouch to the mid-section of your small intestine. The digestive juices now flow from your upper small intestine via the newly created connection straight to the mid-section of your small intestine.

The operation involved opening your abdomen via an incision in your skin.