Types of Bariatric Surgery
In this video, Dr. Raj discusses the types of bariatric surgery and how they affect your body. Banding is a procedure that reduces stomach size
In this video, Dr. Roshini Raj discusses the types of bariatric surgery and how they affect your body. Banding is a restrictive procedure that reduces the size of your stomach. There are two kinds: Laparoscopic Gastric Banding and Vertical Banded Gastroplasty.

This video features Roshini Raj, MD. Dr. Raj is a gastroenterologist and associate professor of medicine at NYU School of Medicine, and an attending physician at NYU Langone Medical Center.
Duration: 3:01. Last Updated On: Nov. 8, 2017, 6:14 p.m.
- 00:00 [MUSIC]
- 00:04 >> Let's talk about restrictive surgeries.
- 00:06 Simply put, restrictive surgeries decrease the size of your stomach.
- 00:11 The two most common techniques are called Laparoscopic Gastric Banding and
- 00:17 Vertical Banded Gastroplasty or VBG.
- 00:20 Laparoscopic means tiny incisions are made to insert thin tubes attached to
- 00:24 video cameras to guide the doctor through the surgery.
- 00:28 Because this is considered a minimally invasive procedure,
- 00:31 it usually means a quicker recovery, less time in the hospital and
- 00:35 less scarring than an open procedure.
- 00:38 With Gastric Banding, an inflatable silicone band is
- 00:41 placed around the upper part of the stomach like a belt or wrist watch.
- 00:45 This banding divides the stomach into a small and
- 00:47 a large portion, leaving a narrow opening between the two.
- 00:51 This then controls the amount of food that can be consumed and
- 00:54 slows the food as it's emptied from the esophagus into the stomach,
- 00:58 resulting in a quicker sensation of fullness.
- 01:01 Unlike many of the other Bariatric Surgery options, the gastric band is reversible.
- 01:06 And once the band is removed, the stomach will return to its original shape.
- 01:11 This gastric band is adjustable and allows your doctor to inflate or
- 01:15 deflate it using a saline solution that's administered through a thin needle.
- 01:20 The second type of restrictive surgery,
- 01:23 VBG is more commonly known as stomach stapling.
- 01:26 In this procedure, a band and
- 01:28 staples are used to create the small pouch at the top of your stomach.
- 01:32 The effect is similar to the gastric band.
- 01:34 The patient will likely eat less food and feel full sooner.
- 01:39 Now Gastric Bypass surgeries are a combination of both restrictive and
- 01:43 malabsorptive procedures.
- 01:45 Malabsorptive means the digestive system is changed, so
- 01:48 that food doesn't travel through part of the small intestine where nutrients and
- 01:53 calories are usually absorbed.
- 01:54 The most common Gastric Bypass Surgery involved stapling part of stomach to
- 01:59 create a small pouch about the size of a walnut.
- 02:02 This is the restrictive part of this procedure and is similar to VBG or
- 02:07 Gastric Banding.
- 02:09 Next, part of the small intestine is cut and
- 02:12 reshaped into a Y and then reconnected directly to the stomach pouch.
- 02:17 This way, when food is digested, it bypasses most of the stomach and
- 02:21 parts of the small intestine responsible for absorbing nutrients and calories.
- 02:26 Since food doesn't pass through these portions of the small intestine,
- 02:30 rapid weight loss can occur.
- 02:32 Gastric Bypass can be performed through open surgery or a laparoscopically.
- 02:37 But keep in mind,
- 02:38 once Gastric Bypass Surgery has been performed, it can't be reversed.
- 02:43 >> We're lucky today to have made great advances in medical technology.
- 02:48 And these different surgeries give the right person a lot of options.
- 02:52 But you should know that they're not suitable for everyone and
- 02:56 none of these weight loss surgeries are substitutes for healthy living.
- American Society of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery. Who is a Candidate for Bariatric Surgery? Accessed June 2017. https://asmbs.org/patients/who-is-a-candidate-for-bariatric-surgery
- Chang et al. The Effectiveness and Risks of Bariatric Surgery. JAMA Surgery. March 2014 https://asmbs.org/patients/who-is-a-candidate-for-bariatric-surgery
- LABS Consortium. Perioperative Safety in the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery. NEJM. 2009. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0901836#t=article
- American Society of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery. Bariatric Surgical Procedures. Accessed June 2017. https://asmbs.org/patients/bariatric-surgery-procedures
- Reilly et al. Long term Impact of overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence on morbidity and premature mortality in adulthood. International Journal of Obesity. October 2010. http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v35/n7/abs/ijo2010222a.html
- Obesity Facts. Accessed June 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/obesity/facts.htm
- Sjoberg et al. Obesity, Shame and Depression in School Aged Children. September 2005. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/116/3/e389.short
- Oettinger et al. Color coding improves parental understanding of BMI charting. Academic Pediatrics. September 2009. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19679524
- Obesity and Overweight Statistics. Accessed June 2017. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity
- NIH Medline Plus. Cellulite. Accessed June 2017. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002033.htm