This type of surgery works by restricting the amount of food that you can eat at one time and alters the hormones in the gut which are responsible for appetite control. The stomach is made much smaller and, through the use of a loop, food eaten misses out a segment of the upper gut, resulting in less absorption of calories and nutrients.

There are two main differences between these gastric bypass procedures; the first is that the mini bypass operation takes a shorter length of time, as it involves just one join being made between the stomach and the bowel as opposed to the standard procedure, which has two. The second is that the bowel is not cut through and re-attached to the stomach in a mini bypass. In addition, there is a lower risk of an internal hernia with mini bypass surgery when compared to the traditional bypass due to fewer calories.

A mini gastric bypass could help you lose a significant amount of weight and, in turn, bring other benefits such as increased self-confidence. This surgery has specific benefits, including:

• Shorter surgery time than a standard bypass
• Simpler surgical technique, reducing the risk of complications
• Reduces your body’s ability to absorb as many calories
• The risk of an internal hernia is reduced
• Can alleviate health problems caused by excess weight
• Patients can lose around 63% of their excess weight

The mini bypass is a relatively safe procedure, but it still comes with its own risks and side effects. These can include:

• Infection
• Bowel obstruction
• Bleeding
• Leakage in the stomach
• Gallstones
• Vomiting
• Malnutrition due to poor absorption of nutrients
• Low blood sugar
• Dumping syndrome (this happens when food moves too quickly from your stomach to duodenum, causing diarrhoea, nausea or vomiting)

General anaesthetic is required for this procedure, so you should be aware of the risks and side effects that come with this.

Mini bypass surgery is carried out under general anaesthetic, so you’ll be asleep for the duration of the operation, which takes 60 – 90 minutes.

To begin with, your surgeon will make small incisions at the top of your abdomen. Through the insertion of a small camera attached to a long, thin tube, your surgeon will be able to see the inside of your stomach and divide it with a laparoscopic stapler to create a small ‘tube’ of stomach. This is where anything that is eaten will go, meaning that only a very small amount of food will be able to be consumed at any one time.

Next, your surgeon will loop a length of bowel around 150cm long and join it to the lower part of the newly-created smaller stomach. This means that food passes from the stomach into the small bowel, meeting the digestive juices produced in the larger part of the stomach. By ‘bypassing’ the 150cm of bowel, the calories and nutrients in what you eat are absorbed in the bowel, so you lose weight by consuming fewer calories.

A mini bypass may be an option for you if you’re looking to lose weight via gastric surgery but want the procedure to be less invasive and performed as quickly as possible, with a lower risk of complications after treatment. Recovery from the mini bypass can be faster, and it is also easier to reverse this type of surgery when compared to the standard gastric bypass.

Both types of bypass surgery can result in the loss of up to 70-80% of excess weight.

If you suffer from acid reflux, then a mini bypass may not be right for you. This is because it may make the symptoms worse. When you have a consultation with one of our weight management experts, they’ll be able to give you advice as to whether a mini bypass is an option for you.

After your procedure, you’ll spend a night in hospital to make sure that your recovery is progressing as it should. When you’re ready to go home, you should make sure that you have someone to pick you up and help you get settled on your return. You’ll need to take at least a week off from work and should try to rest for the first few days.

Your surgeon or nutritional adviser will give you instructions regarding what you can and cannot eat following surgery. For the first 4 weeks, you’ll need to follow a post-op diet consisting of liquids, soft and pureed foods. After this period, you can begin to reintroduce textured food as your body adjusts to the mini bypass.

For the first few weeks, you might experience some discomfort and tiredness which will ease as your body gets used to the changes in your digestive system. After 4 weeks, you can gradually start to incorporate exercise into your daily routine to help your weight loss progress.