Question:
While looking at before and after pics, I saw a woman that had mini-gastroplasty

surgery. What exactly is this and how do you qualify for this? What BMI should you have?    — Renee W. (posted on November 20, 2003)

November 20, 2003
Not sure if this is what you're talking about, but here's a little something that I have in my files: Loop Gastric Bypass ("Mini Gastric Bypass") This form of Gastric Bypass was developed years ago, and has generally been abandoned by nearly all bariatric surgeons as unsafe -- several years ago, a consensus of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery was that the procedure should never be performed. Although easier to perform than the Roux en-Y, it creates a severe hazard in the event of any leakage after surgery. It seriously increases the risk of ulcer formation, and irritation of the stomach pouch by bile, as well as risking the potential of esophageal cancer. Many persons who underwent this procedure in the past have required major revisional operations to correct severe discomfort and life-threatening pathophysiologic effects. Most bariatric surgeons agree that this operation is obsolete, and should remain defunct. This operation has been resurrected, in order to make the laparoscopic procedure easier to perform, by possibly less-skilled surgeons. As shown by the single surgeon performing the procedure, the gastric pouch is excessively large, which may lead to loss of weight control over time. A fundamental principle of laparoscopic surgery is that the underlying operation should not be compromised or degraded, in order to accomplish it, by using limited access techniques. The loop bypass does not meet this standard. There is no reliable long-term data to support use of this anatomic variation. You can also find info about this operation, and why most surgeons don't do it, at www.Mini-GastricBypass.com.
   — Dina McBride

November 20, 2003
Or, maybe this is what you're thinking of: Gastroplasty (Stomach Stapling, Gastric Stapling) We mention this operation for completeness, although we do not offer it, because we do not believe in it, as an effective treatment. Gastroplasty, or Stomach Stapling (Gastric Partitioning) is widely performed in the United States and elsewhere. It is a technically simple operation, accomplished by stapling the upper stomach, to create a small pouch, about the size of your thumb, into which food flows after it is swallowed. The outlet of this pouch is restricted by a band of synthetic mesh, which slows its emptying, so that the person having it feels full after only a few bites (one thumbful) of food. Characteristically, this feeling of fullness is not associated with a feeling of satisfaction - the feeling one has had enough to eat. Patients who have this procedure, because they seldom experience any satisfaction from eating, tend to seek ways to get around the operation. Trying to eat more causes vomiting, which can tear out the staple line and destroy the operation. Some people discover that eating junk food, or eating all day long by "grazing" helps them to feel more sense of satisfaction and fulfillment -- but weight loss is defeated. In a sense, the operation tends to encourage behavior which defeats its objective. Overall, about 40% of persons who have this operation never achieve loss of more than half of their excess body weight. In the long run, five or more years after surgery, only about 30% of patients have maintained a successful weight loss. Many patients must undergo another, revisional operation, to obtain the results they seek.
   — Dina McBride