Weight Loss Surgery Health Center

Gastric Bypass: Most Effective Weight Loss Surgery?

Choosing Weight Loss Surgery continued...

If control of diabetes is a primary concern, having an operation that bypasses the upper intestine is probably the best bet, says John G. Kral, MD, director of surgical services at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in New York.

“Adding type 2 diabetes to the equation, the evidence is fairly clear that diversionary operations are more effective. That is a powerful factor for a patient who would come requesting a bariatric operation and who has type 2 diabetes,” Kral says.

However, he adds that the gastric bypass is a complicated procedure that’s best performed by an experienced surgeon at a hospital where they are frequently performed.

Kral says surgeons need to have performed about 125 gastric bypass procedures before they can reliably and safely repeat them in patients.