Question from Tonya in Clear Lake:

“A bariatric surgeon told me I might be a candidate for RYGB, but it depends on my transit times for the smart pill. If I have gastroparesis with delayed gastric and large intestinal transit but normal small intestine am I a good candidate for gastric bypass surgery?”

Dear Tonya,

For patients with severe gastroparesis, I prefer a modified sleeve gastrectomy over gastric bypass to improve gastric emptying and effectively resolve gastroparesis related symptoms. One study has shown that sleeve gastrectomy improves both gastric and small intestine emptying. Therefore, I predict that a modified sleeve gastrectomy improves intestinal motility too. I am not sure about the effect of gastric surgery on colon emptying. I am also not sure about the clinical significance of small bowel transit time in the setting of gastroparesis.

For patients with delayed gastric emptying but normal small intestine motility, will gastric bypass surgery be equally effective to modified sleeve gastrectomy in alleviating gastroparesis related symptoms? This is a very interesting question and I am not sure if we have an answer for. Gastroparesis is a heterogeneous disorder with many different subtypes. There may be a role for gastric bypass surgery in some gastroparesis patients with “normal” small bowel motility, but I am not aware of studies to support such an approach. In my own personal and limited experience, I have had great success with the modified sleeve gastrectomy for treatment of severe refractory gastroparesis.