Bariatric Surgery: 5 Terms to Know

As with most medical procedures, bariatric surgeons often use highly technical terminology to describe the process. While these terms are justifiably necessary to offer precise descriptions of things, they can often confuse a patient. Here is a look at five terms commonly associated with bariatric surgery that can throw you for a loop if you don’t know what they mean.

1. Dumping Syndrome

   This is a relatively common condition that affects people who have undergone bariatric surgery. After the procedure food sometimes moves too quickly through the digestive system, which can lead to nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and dizziness. The condition is most commonly experienced when patients eat dairy or high-fat foods.

2. Gastrectomy

   This refers to any procedure in which some or all of the stomach is removed. When it comes to bariatric surgery, the most common gastrectomy is the sleeve gastrectomy, which leaves the stomach looking like a thin tube.

3. Laparoscopic Surgery

   This is a surgical technique that involves the use of a fiber-optic camera (laparoscope), which allows surgeons to make incisions further away from the operating site. The benefits of this method include smaller incisions, faster healing times, and a decreased risk of surgical complications. A lap band fitting is one common type of bariatric surgery that involves the use of a laparoscope.

4. Obesity

   While obesity is used colloquially to describe being overweight, it has very specific connotations for the medical community. It refers to anyone with a body mass index (BMI) of more than 30. In addition, obesity is broken into three separate categories—class I (a BMI of 30-34), class II (a BMI of 35-39), and class III (a BMI of 40 or more).

5. Roux-en-Y

   This is the most common method for gastric bypass and involves using staples to create a small stomach pouch that is then attached to the small intestine, bypassing the majority of the stomach. This procedure is named after Cesar Roux, the first surgeon to describe it, and because of the “Y” shape created in the intestinal tract.