Bypass Vs. Binding: What's Effective For Weight Loss?

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Every year about 220,000 Americans have weight loss surgery. That's more than twice as many from just a decade ago.

There are two common types of procedures, and a new study finds that one may be more effective.

In gastric binding, doctors put an adjustable band around part of the stomach, limiting how much a person can eat. Banding was thought to be safer than gastric bypass, where doctors use staples to create a small stomach pouch.

But a new study shows nearly half of patients who chose banding were still obese after six years. Banding patients also had more long-term complications and follow-up operations than those who had bypass.

"When we actually remove part of the stomach we change the hormones that control hunger and fullness and we change people's relationship with food," said Dr. Mitchell Roslin with Lenox Hill Hospital.

The study found people who had gastric bypass lost more weight more quickly, and kept it off longer than those who had the band.

The risk of a deadly complication was somewhat greater with bypass surgery, but the researchers concluded that the risk was outweighed by the benefits.