Explaining the “sleeve” in gastric sleeve surgery

When many people hear “gastric sleeve surgery,” they get an idea in their head that we actually insert a sleeve-like structure into your stomach. However, this is a common misconception. With gastric sleeve surgery, also called sleeve gastrectomy, we don’t insert anything at all. The term “sleeve” is simply a description of what your stomach looks like after the procedure is complete. During sleeve surgery, we remove about 75% of the stomach. This leaves a narrow gastric “tube” or what looks like a sleeve.

What happens during gastric sleeve surgery?

Gastric sleeve surgery is the most frequently performed bariatric procedure in the United States. You may be a candidate for this procedure if your body mass index (BMI) is greater than or equal to 40. You may also be a candidate if your BMI is between 30 and 40 and you also have other medical problems such as diabetes, sleep apnea, heart disease, or high blood pressure. Gastric sleeve surgery may be an option for you if you are severely obese and have not been able to shed the excess weight through diet and exercise. The procedure, in coordination with lifestyle modifications, can help improve your overall health and quality of life. We take a laparoscopic approach for gastric sleeve surgery. This means we make just five or six small incisions in the abdomen and perform the procedure using a video camera (laparoscope) and long instruments that we place through these small incisions. We remove around 75% of your stomach and leave a narrow, sleeve-shaped gastric tube. With this procedure, we do not remove or bypass your intestines. Gastric sleeve surgery takes one to two hours to complete.

Weight loss from gastric sleeve surgery & other benefits

Gastric sleeve surgery is a restrictive procedure. It greatly reduces the size of your stomach and limits the amount of food that you can eat at one time. It does not cause decreased absorption of nutrients or bypass your intestines. After eating a small amount of food, you will feel full very quickly and continue to feel full for several hours. The procedure may also cause your appetite to decrease, and people often wonder how this happens. In addition to reducing the size of your stomach, gastric sleeve may also reduce the amount of “hunger hormone” that your stomach produces. This can contribute to weight loss after the procedure as well. Depending on your pre-operative weight, you can expect to lose between 40% to 70% of your excess body weight in the first year after gastric sleeve surgery. Many obesity-related problems improve or resolve after the procedure. Diabetes, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, and abnormal cholesterol levels are improved or cured in more than 75% of patients undergoing gastric sleeve. Many patients are surprised to learn that gastric sleeve surgery is more affordable than they had imagined. We have payment options with and without insurance, but our $8,999 cash pricing cost is the best you will find in the area. To learn more, schedule your appointment with us today.

Contact Us to Learn More About Gastric Bypass Surgery

Birmingham Minimally Invasive Surgery in Birmingham, Alabama, is a caring group of professionals who specialize in all types of bariatric surgery. Our surgeon Dr. Jay Long has highly specialized training in bariatric surgery, having completed a fellowship in minimally invasive and bariatric surgery at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, where he focused on taking care of patients that are morbidly obese. And we are so proud of our pricing that we publish the costs right on the front page of our website! Insurance won’t pay? We have a variety of financing options we can offer you so that you are able to get the healthy body you’ve wanted for years. Visit us today at http://www.bmisurgery.com/ or give us a call to set up a consultation at 205-833-6907.

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