Although a majority of those seeking to combat obesity with a gastric bypass experience dramatic results within 12 to 18 months, a smaller group of patients must cope with weight regain. In their case, the sectioned, smaller stomach finds a way to stretch beyond its small intended size, leading to the need for a revision of the original gastric bypass procedure.

Non-Invasive Surgery Technique

As the need for this revision grows, doctors have made great progress with the ways that a gastric bypass can be revised. No longer is the only option to pursue risky, further abdominal surgery. For example, surgeons at Beth Israel Medical Center have perfected a new technique that relies of natural orifice endoscopic procedures.

Instead of making more incisions in the abdominal area, a revision can now be accomplished by inserting an endoscopic tube through the patient's mouth. Once the camera-outfitted tube is inserted down to the point where the reduced stomach pouch connects to the small intestine, small sections of the pouch wall are suctioned into the device and then stapled to create a new fold. As many as two dozen staples can be inserted as part of this gastric bypass revision.

Five Percent Need

In the 1980s, a group of 920 U.S. gastic bypass patients was closely monitored. Out of 920 individuals tracked over a ten-year period, 42 necessitated some sort of gastric bypass revision.

The main reason for the revision was a dilated connection point between the stomach pouch and small intestine. However, there were other reasons anchoring the need for a bypass, including the opposite effect of an enlarged connection point, a breakdown of the original bypass staples, and leakage from the stomach or intestine. In about half the cases observed during this time, the gastric bypass had to be more than simply revised. It had to be completely redone. Although this particular study concluced that gastric bypass revision was a risky procedure, today's more sophisticated medical equipment and new techniques like the one outlined above have made it a much safer option.