Question:
Are there any absorption problems with one type of wls vs another

   — stevie W. (posted on November 18, 2000)

November 18, 2000
Proximal surgeries such as RNY and VGB rely on altering the stomach size and modifying eating behaviors for weight loss. More distal procedures rely on malabsorption of nutrients to achieve weight loss. Both provide the desired result and require life-long commitment to proper follow-up.
   — Diana T.

November 18, 2000
If you don't want to have any possibility of any absorption problems then you should probably choose VBG or gastric banding. Those surgeries don't bypass any portion of your digestive system, so they don't create any malabsorption. The other weight loss surgeries (bypasses) do create some malabsorption, and that is part of the reason they usually produce better weight loss than VBG or gastric banding. If part of the stomach or small intestine is bypassed, then you will not absorb all the calories you eat, and it makes it easier to take off the weight and keep it off. However, the tiny stomach (as in RnY) makes it harder to absorb calcium and B-12, and the shortened small intestine makes it harder to absorb other nutrients (as in iron, fat soluble vitamins, zinc, protein, etc.) The degree of this mal-absorption will vary depending on how much small intestine, and what portion of the small intestine is bypassed. None of the surgeries are perfect in this regard, and the one that is best for me may not be best for you.
   — Lynn K.