Gastric Bypass Surgery

The bypass procedure, which is also called the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or Roux-en-Y, has been performed for weight loss for fifty years. The laparoscopic (small-incision) version was first performed in 1994. It has a long-established reputation for safety and effectiveness, and it is often referred to as the “gold standard” of weight-loss operations.

What Is Gastric Bypass?

The bypass procedure entails the creation of a new, smaller stomach called the pouch. The pouch is partitioned from the original stomach using devices called surgical staplers. Once partitioned, the pouch is connected to the small intestine, into which food swallowed into the pouch will empty after surgery. The surgery usually takes Dr. Fitzer about an hour and five minutes. Schematically, it looks like this:

You can watch Dr. Fitzer perform a gastric bypass on our YouTube channel, here. The operation is called the gastric “bypass” because food is made to “bypass” most of the stomach when it passes through the pouch.^[1] The “Roux-en-Y” part of the name is the medical terminology for the specific manner in which the operation requires the pouch be reconnected to the small intestine. There are other ways to reconnect the pouch that have a different name, such as the “single-anastomosis” gastric bypass, a.k.a. the “mini” gastric bypass. In the modern era, the bypass operation is almost always performed as a Roux-en-Y (which is the form depicted above).

The purpose of the pouch is to allow patients to create an overwhelming sense of satiety, or thoroughly satisfied hunger, using very small amounts of food. The early, profound satisfaction is what causes patients to eat less after surgery. Whereas an adult human stomach usually holds around one and a half quarts, the pouch only fits about one ounce of food. Over time, patients become accustomed to feeling satisfied with smaller portions, which helps them maintain weight loss in the long term.

Results

Weight loss typically stabilizes around eighteen months after surgery and remains mostly steady in the long term. Here is the ten-year weight loss data for Virginia Bariatric Center patients as of mid-July 2026:

As you can see, weight loss is basically stable (with a small amount of wobble) around the 70% line, even out to ten years.

Risks and Benefits

The potential benefits of gastric bypass include significant and durable weight loss, with improvement in or total relief of the myriad medical conditions caused or worsened by excess weight. Gastric bypass surgery has been demonstrated to significantly improve the life expectancy of patients who undergo it compared to obese candidates for surgery who do not.

The bypass procedure is performed very safely these days. As with any surgery, there are of course risks. To properly cover all of them takes about ninety minutes. For that reason, Dr. Fitzer published a recorded version of his usual complications talk on our YouTube channel. The seminar on complications can be watched here.

Dr. Fitzer will answer any questions you may have about the associated risks before surgery happens.

Schedule an Appointment

An appointment with Dr. Fitzer is a very efficient way to find out whether gastric bypass surgery is an appropriate option for you.