Roux-En-Y: A Case Study

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There is a health crisis in America. Today there are more overweight Americans than ever. According to the Center for Disease Control, in 2013 over seventy percent of Americans over the age of 20 were overweight (CDC, 2017). For many, the answer to this issue is weight loss surgery. The weight loss surgery, Roux-en-Y (RNY) can have major health and emotional effects, both positive and negative, and requires lifestyle adjustments including changes in both diet and in the patient’s physical activity. However, if the individual follows the diet and nutritional requirements, as well as incorporating an exercise routine, the result of the surgery can be truly life transforming. Of the seventy percent of American’s who are overweight, over half …show more content…

Developed in the 60’s by Drs. Mason and Ito, Roux-en-Y has become the gold standard in WLS with approximately 45,000 RNY procedures performed in 2015 (Estimate of Bariatric Surgery Numbers, 2011-2015, 2016). With RNY, the vast majority of the stomach is separated, leaving a thumb-sized pouch. As a result, this greatly decreases the amount of food the patient is able to consume. The residual stomach and first segment of small intestine are bypassed via a Y limb. By bypassing part of the small intestines, fewer calories and nutrients are absorbed (The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, 2004). This advance in surgical weight loss treatment has offered thousands hope for a more normal and healthy …show more content…

Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and sleep apnea are just some of the medical conditions that often show improvement or remission following a RNY. While not all people with diabetes or high blood pressure are obese, nearly all obese people have these health conditions (American Diabetes Association, 2015). For many obese Type 2 diabetics, a RNY successfully puts their disease in remission (McGRAW & Wool, 2015). The reasons for this are twofold. First, because the stomach is smaller, caloric intake decreases greatly. In addition, after a RNY, the small intestine begins to produce a molecule called GLUT-1 that helps the body use glucose. What is so amazing about this is that GLUT-1 is not normally present in the small intestine of adults, but only in the fetus (Heitz, 2013). Patients often leave the hospital in totally off

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