Bariatric surgical procedures can be classified as either malabsorptive, restrictive, or a combination of the two. If you are considering surgery for weight loss, it’s important to understand these terms because they will affect your health and lifestyle long after your weight loss surgery.
Restrictive vs. Malabsorptive Surgery
- Restrictive weight loss surgery — A restrictive procedure reduces food consumption (and by extension the patient’s weight) by reducing the size of the stomach. This is achieved by dividing the stomach into a small upper pouch and a larger lower portion.
- Malabsorptive weight loss surgery — A malabsorptive procedure alters your digestion process by limiting the absorption of calories. As a result, it can also lead to the incomplete absorption of certain vitamins and minerals from your food.
- Combination surgery — Certain types of weight loss surgery (such as the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass) are both restrictive and malabsorptive. The Roux-en-Y segments the stomach while also reshaping the intestines, thus it combines both concepts into one surgery.
Here’s what you should take away from this. Malabsorptive and restrictive surgeries both have their advantages and disadvantages. Thus, they will affect your long-term health in different ways. So when researching the subject of weight loss surgery, you must consider these two concepts and the effects associated with them.