Gastric bypass surgery is one of the most effective weight-loss surgeries available today.

It has helped millions of obese patients lose weight and improve their health.

Over the years, the procedure has become more refined and less invasive, thanks to the work of dedicated surgeons and researchers.

But how did it come to be?

Let’s take a look at the history of gastric bypass surgery, from its early development in the 1960s to the laparoscopic procedures performed today.

1960s: The Silver Lining for Obese Patients Worldwide

Gastric bypass surgery was first developed by Drs. Mason and Ito in the late 1960s.

It was originally focused on partial gastrectomy (stomach removal) for the treatment of peptic ulcer disease in the early 1960s.

After studying the procedure in animal surgery research labs, the surgeons were confident that it was safe to perform on human patients suffering from duodenal ulcers.

However, researchers observed that patients who underwent the procedure in 1965 were not helped with their ulcers but did lose significant weight.

For people struggling with obesity and numerous associated conditions, this was nothing short of a silver lining.

By 1966, Dr. Mason began performing gastric bypass surgery on morbidly obese patients. At that time, intestinal bypass was the preferred surgical option for the treatment of morbid obesity.

The open gastric bypass procedure carried a significant risk of complications, such as incisional hernia.

Over the next two decades, surgeons and researchers developed laparoscopic techniques to reduce these risks.

1970s: Development of Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass

Dr. Mason’s gastric bypass surgery involved creating a smaller meal pouch.

This setup, known as the Mason loop, developed by Dr. Mason and his team, bypassed the remainder of the stomach, duodenum, and a short segment of the bowel to encourage rapid weight loss.

Subsequent studies revealed that gastric bypass markedly reduced the secretion of the hunger hormone ghrelin and was effective for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Many of the early patients who opted for gastric bypass struggled with bilious vomiting.

In 1977, Dr. Ward Griffen and his team modified the Mason loop to the Roux-en-Y loop.

This is why gastric bypass is commonly referred to as Roux-en-Y surgery today.

Early 1990s: The Advent of Laparoscopic RYGB

In 1994, the first laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) was performed on five patients by Drs. Wittgrove and Clark.

The results were soon published, along with details of the technique and instrumentation used for the procedure.

A much larger trial was reported seven years later, in 2001, by Dr Ninh T. Nguyen and his team.

Long-term data over the years indicated that the laparoscopic approach to gastric bypass surgery helped reduce hospital-stay, and the risk of complications such as blood loss during surgery, postoperative pain, and infections.

Surgeons around the world agreed that laparoscopic RYGB was much more challenging and complex but considerably safer and more cost-effective than its predecessor, open gastric bypass surgery.

The availability of a minimally-invasive bariatric surgery for fast & durable weight loss led to the widespread popularity of this surgical option among obese patients.

In the next ten years, over 250,000 people in the United States were opting for laparoscopic gastric bypass each year.

Today, about 10,000 to 20,000 international patients undergo gastric bypass annually in Tijuana, Mexico alone.

Currently, nine out of 10 gastric bypass surgeries performed anywhere in the world are done laparoscopically.

Late 1990s: Mini Gastric Bypass (MGB)

Since laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass was technically more challenging than open gastric bypass and posed some risk of leakage, Robert Rutledge developed mini gastric bypass (MGB) as an alternative in 1997.

Rutledge published his findings based on his work with thousands of patients. The new technique gained acceptance among several surgeons over the next few years.