Sleeve Gastrectomy

No matter if you’re private pay or paying with insurance, every patient is required to attend an online nutrition/prep class that is led by our bariatric coordinator and bariatric nutritionist. The bariatric coordinator had gastric bypass surgery herself, so she’s very familiar with the process, along with the emotions that go along with it. Here, they’ll address all your questions and concerns while giving you information on pre-op nutrition, post-op nutrition, and everything else you’ll need to know about the surgery, including mental preparations.

At the start of the procedure, you will be given general anesthesia. This will cause you to sleep and allow you to feel no pain throughout the procedure. Your surgeon will create 5 small surgical openings on your abdomen. The laparoscope and small surgical instruments are introduced through these openings into your abdomen. Your surgeon will then divide your stomach in a vertical manner and remove a major portion of it, between 80-90%. The remaining portion of your stomach will be joined together using surgical staples. The final result is a long, tube-like, or banana-shaped stomach.

The procedure takes about 30-45 minutes to complete. Immediately after, you will be started on a clear liquid diet and will be given medications to help alleviate any pain or discomfort. Your surgeon will provide you with a special diet plan to avoid stretching of the stomach.

Sleeve gastrectomy is performed laparoscopically avoiding the need for large abdominal incisions. Patients benefit from less pain, shorter hospital stays, and faster recovery.

The surgery reduces the size and volume of your stomach thereby limiting your food intake and calorie absorption. As most of the stomach is removed, the procedure also benefits by limiting the amount of hunger-stimulating hormone (ghrelin) produced in your stomach. The surgery results in a stomach that functions normally that enables you to eat most foods, just in smaller amounts, after your procedure.

The surgery avoids any cutting or changing of your sphincter muscles. Sphincter muscles allow food to enter and exit your stomach. Any injury to the sphincter muscles can cause regurgitation, acid backing up into the esophagus, and heartburn. The pyloric portion of the stomach is left intact and helps avoid dumping syndrome (rapid gastric emptying causing cramps, nausea, and diarrhea).

Sleeve gastrectomy is a simpler procedure and helps avoid the associated risks of an intestinal bypass. It also avoids the use of foreign materials such as with a gastric banding procedure.

Most of the patients, after losing enough weight, are able to experience improvement in their overall health and find it easier to perform their everyday activities.

The stomach tube may stretch over time leading to late weight regain. The extent of this problem is currently unknown.

The procedure is not reversible.

The amount of weight reduction is typically 50-70% of excess weight lost over the first 1-2 years.

There is no malabsorption of nutrients.

If weight is regained, a second stage operation known as duodenal switch or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass can be performed.

Not an option for patients with severe reflux disease.