Also called: Bariatric surgery · Bypass surgery · Gastric banding · Obesity surgery
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Weight Loss Surgery
Weight loss surgery helps people with extreme obesity to lose weight. It may be an option if you cannot lose weight through diet and exercise or have serious health problems caused by obesity.
There are different types of weight loss surgery. They often limit the amount of food you can take in. Some types of surgery also affect how you digest food and absorb nutrients. All types have risks and complications, such as infections, hernias, and blood clots.
Many people who have the surgery lose weight quickly, but regain some weight later on. If you follow diet and exercise recommendations, you can keep most of the weight off. You will also need medical follow-up for the rest of your life.
It sits within Digestive System, Surgery and Rehabilitation and Metabolic Problems.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Weight Loss Surgery
1,966 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Impact of MBS on Body Composition, Basal Metabolic Rates and Muscle Functions in Morbid Obese PatientsAll India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar
- Continuous Wearable Biometric Monitoring in Adults Undergoing Obesity Treatment (SMART-BMI)Jeff Reeves
- Autonomic Neural Blockade in Bariatric SurgeryEndeavor Health
- Bariatric Surgery Combined With GLP-1RA: A Multicenter Study.China-Japan Friendship Hospital
- Weight Loss Clinical Decision SupportHealthPartners Institute
- Digital Follow-Up and Nursing Education in Bariatric Surgery PatientsOkan University
Research already completed
- Short-Term Changes in Salivary IL-6, TNF-α, and Periodontal Inflammation Following Sleeve Gastrectomy in Patients With Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Pilot StudyGeorge Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology of Targu Mures
- Glycemic Variability During Pregnancy After Bariatric SurgeryCentro Hospitalar Universitário de Santo António
- The Effect of Virtual Reality Intervention and the Benson Relaxation Technique on Anxiety and HappinessFirat University
- Flow-Controlled vs Volume-Controlled Ventilation in Morbidly Obese Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Bariatric SurgeryAnkara Training and Research Hospital
- Comparison of Epidural and Intravenous Analgesia in Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy PatientsTrabzon Kanuni Education and Research Hospital
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Bariatric SurgeryMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Gastric Bypass Surgery: Who Is It For?Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Weight-Loss (Bariatric) SurgeryNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Living With
- Gastric Bypass Diet: What to Eat After the SurgeryMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Related Issues
- Bariatric SurgeryEndocrine Society
- Body Contouring After Major Weight LossAmerican Society of Plastic Surgeons
- Dieting and GallstonesNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- Dumping SyndromeMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Statistics and Research
- Estimate of Bariatric Surgery Numbers, 2011-2021American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Bariatric SurgeryNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Gastric BypassNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Bariatric Surgery, Obesity, Obesity, Morbid. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Weight Loss Surgery, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.