Stomach stapling is a popular term for vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG), one technique of bariatric surgery for managing morbid obesity. In the stomach stapling operation, surgical staples are inserted into the stomach to form one side of a pouch. The bottom of the pouch is formed from compression of the stomach by a saline-filled band around some of the outside of the stomach. In the bottom of the pouch is an approximately 1-cm hole through which the pouch contents can flow into the remainder of the stomach and thence onto the remainder of the gastrointestinal tract.
Stomach stapling is a restrictive technique for managing obesity. The pouch limits the amount of food a patient can eat at one time and slows passage of the food. Stomach stapling is more effective when combined with a malabsorptive technique , in which part of the digestive tract is bypassed, reducing the absorption of calories and nutrients. Combined restrictive and malabsorptive technique are called gastric bypass techniques, of which Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RGB) is the most common. In this technique, staples are used to form a pouch that is connected to the small intestine, bypassing the lower stomach, the duodenum, and the first portion of the jejunum.
Links
http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/gastric.htm
http://www.asbs.org/html/rationale/rationale.html
