May 13, 2003 — Surgeon experience, and sleep apnea and hypertension in patients are associated with complications after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery, a procedure to aid in weight loss by surgically attaching a loop of the small intestine to the stomach, allowing food to bypass the stomach and part of the intestinal tract, according to an article in the May issue of The Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Obesity is a major health problem in the United States, and is estimated to account for approximately 280,000 deaths per year, according to information in the article. Obesity is associated with many other health risks, including hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus. RYGB surgery is one of the most commonly offered surgical procedures for the treatment of obesity and appears to offer the best long-term results.