Surgery on the stomach and/or intestines to help a person with extreme obesity lose weight.

There are two main types of bariatric surgery; adjustable gastric banding and gastric bypass.

In adjustable gastric banding, insertion of a band restricts the size of the opening from the esophagus to the stomach.

• The size of the opening to the stomach determines the amount of food that can be eaten.
• The size of the opening can be controlled by the surgeon by inflating or deflating the band through a port that is implanted beneath the skin on the abdomen.
• The band can be removed at any time.

In contrast to gastric banding, gastric bypass (sometimes referred to as roux-en-Y gastric bypass) is a permanent reduction in the size of the stomach.

• The proximal portion of the stomach is used to create an egg-sized pouch that is connected to the intestine in a location that bypasses about two feet of normal intestine.
• The amount of food that can be eaten is limited by the size of the pouch and the size of the opening between the pouch and the intestine.