Intestinal bypasses

The Intestinal Bypass procedure was original a treatment for certain cancers and severe ulcers back in the 1950's. When it was discovered that these patients also lost weight after surgery, some surgeons began using it as an obesity treatment as well for morbidly obese patients.

The idea was that patients would eat food that would be poorly digested and through "malabsorption" pass through the system without the calories being absorbed into the body.

In practice this turned out to be the case. However, it also meant that most of the usual and required dietary nutrients passed through and out of the body without being absorbed. Malnutrition was a common side-effect, as were surgical complications and even death. It was major invasive surgical procedure.

This surgery is only recommended for cancer patients and not for morbidly obese weight loss patients.