Bariatric surgery is a medical procedure that helps individuals achieve their weight loss goals permanently. However, studies have shown that some people may regain weight, usually 2 to 10 years after the original surgery. This can be a major concern for many bariatric surgery patients, but there are ways to prevent it from happening. A study of more than 2,300 participants who underwent either gastric bypass or gastric banding found that only 4% had regained weight to within 5% of their pre-surgical weight.
Three years after surgery, those who had a gastric bypass lost a median of 90 pounds (31% of their initial weight loss), while those who had a gastric band put on an average weight of 44 pounds (weight loss of 16%). The goal of bariatric surgery is to reduce the size of the stomach to a small pouch that connects to the small intestine, bypassing the rest of the stomach. This pouch is still extremely small compared to a normal stomach, and if it reaches three or four times its size after surgery, it can lead to weight gain. To prevent this from happening, individuals may need to modify the original surgery through bariatric revision.
Bariatric revision, also known as transoral gastric orifice reduction, is a procedure designed to treat widening of the gastric orifice. It involves repairing or improving a previous bariatric procedure, such as a gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, or duodenal switch. Studies have found that individuals with a lower body mass index (BMI) before surgery are more likely to lose weight and less likely to regain it years after surgery.
