Ask the Experts
Gastric Sleeve Weight Loss Surgery
Weight loss surgery or bariatric surgery is the most effective solution for dealing with severe obesity and its complications, and perhaps one of the best procedure of these is laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy or gastric sleeve.
The gastric sleeve surgery involves an excision of the large part of the stomach resulting in a small amount remaining. The stomach will look like a sleeve or a thin tube, hence the name.
The reduction in stomach size will result in the patient feeling fuller with a smaller portion of food.
Why might I need gastric sleeve surgery?
Gastric sleeve surgery is used to treat severe obesity. It’s advised for people who have tried other weight loss methods without long-term success. Your doctor may advise gastric sleeve surgery if you are severely obese with a body mass index (BMI) over 40. Your doctor may also advise it if you have a BMI between 35 and 40 and a health condition such as sleep apnoea, high blood pressure, heart disease, or type 2 diabetes.
What happens during gastric sleeve surgery?
The patient will be given a general anaesthetic. The surgery will be carried out laparoscopically, which involves surgical instruments inserted into the abdomen via keyhole surgery.
The anesthesiologist will then pass a sizing tube through your mouth down into the stomach. The surgeon will then use a laparoscopic stapler to divide the stomach, leaving a narrow vertical sleeve. The part of the stomach that was removed is then taken out of the abdomen through an incision. Your surgeon may then test for any leaks in the sleeve using a dye study or an upper endoscopy.
Typically, people report pain in the range of 5/10 with some people’s pain getting up to a 7/10. Your doctor should have given you instructions regarding pain at this point as well. If the pain is unbearable or not what your surgeon told you to expect, you should let your surgeon know.
Most patients find that after a reasonable recovery, that they are able to comfortably eat a wide variety of foods, including meats and fibrous vegetables. Unlike the adjustable gastric band and the gastric bypass, the sleeve gastrectomy is a permanent procedure – it cannot be reversed.
The argument in favor of the most effective bariatric procedures, the gastric sleeve and gastric bypass, is that on average, they help people lose about 30 percent of their original bodyweight and keep most of it off — a far better outcome than a regimen of diet and exercise.