Gastric sleeve or sleeve gastrectomy is a type of bariatric weight loss surgery option that helps, as the name implies, induce and maintain weight loss.
Sleeve gastrectomy in Miami (and in other respectable clinics), in essence, works by reducing the size of the patient’s stomach. Gastrectomy itself means removing a part of the stomach. Gastric sleeve, or gastric sleeve surgery, describes a medical intervention where around 80% of the stomach is removed. The patient is left only with a tubular “sleeve” that roughly matches the dimensions of a banana.
In this article, our experts will discuss the basics of having a gastric sleeve, the benefits and risks of VSG surgery, and how the intervention can aid the patient’s weight loss journey.
About Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy or VSG surgery
Also called sleeve gastrectomy, this is a type of bariatric medical intervention that helps with weight loss in class III obese patients. Essentially, the procedure works by reducing the size of the patient’s stomach and removing around 80% of it, thus drastically reducing the amount of food the patient can consume before feeling full.
Reducing the patient’s stomach through VSG surgery is an effective way to restrict the number of calories and food they can eat, and the reduced size makes them feel fuller faster. Additionally, the reduced stomach size will help reduce the production of hunger hormones in the stomach, helping decrease that patient’s appetite and occasional cravings that may interfere with dieting and maintaining the weight they’ve already managed to lose.
Typically, gastric sleeve surgery is the most common intervention for weight loss in the United States and globally, with the total number performed in the US being around 150,000 yearly.
Gastric Sleeve Doesn’t Only Help With Weight Loss
As mentioned above, a gastric sleeve is the most commonly performed surgery to treat class III obesity in patients who didn’t manage to lose weight with the help of conventional methods. Apart from that, sleeve gastrectomy can also help in treating different medical issues that are directly linked to obesity.
Still, the intervention is only recommended for qualified patients who are morbidly obese and have other severe medical conditions related to excess weight or are at risk of developing them.
That said, VSG surgery can help improve or completely cure some issues, such as:
- High cholesterol
- Arterial diseases
- Type 2 diabetes
- Insulin resistance
- Hypertensive heart disease
- Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
- Osteoarthritis and joint pain
- Obstructive sleep apnea and obesity hypoventilation syndrome
How Safe Is Gastric Sleeve Surgery?
While the surgery has some risks, carrying excess weight is far worse. When discussing sleeve gastrectomy, experts usually point out that it usually has fewer complications than other fairly common interventions like hip replacements or gallbladder removal procedures. Most sleeve gastrectomies are minimally invasive procedures, meaning there’s far less pain, less scar tissue, smaller incisions, and faster recovery.
Weight Loss Surgery: The Details
Qualifications
First off, who can qualify for sleeve gastrectomy? The general requirements are the following:
- Having a BMI of 40 or higher. This is class III or severe obesity. On the other hand, patients with a BMI of at least 35 and at least one related disease can also qualify.
- The patient hasn’t lost weight in medically supervised weight loss programs.
- Passing an assessment that guarantees that the patient is mentally and physically prepared for the procedure and recovery process.
Before Surgery
Prior to the intervention, patients are put on a two-week diet consisting only of liquids with specific guidelines. The point of this pre-op diet is to lose some abdominal and liver fat to make the surgery easier and safer.
Patients will also be asked not to drink or eat 12 hours before the surgery to ensure the stomach is empty. Leftover food or fluids in the stomach can lead to dangerous consequences during the intervention.
The Procedure Itself
Typically, the surgery is performed via robotic or laparoscopic surgery. This means surgeons won’t make a large incision and open the entire abdominal cavity to reach the stomach. Instead, they will perform the whole intervention via small cuts, which causes less pain and speeds up recovery.
Still, open surgery will be recommended for some patients based on their specific case and condition.
- First, the surgeon will administer general anesthesia, and the patient will be asleep during the surgery.
- The surgeon will make a tiny abdominal incision where they will insert a port to pump carbon dioxide into the abdomen to expand it.
- The surgeon will place a tiny port with a video camera and a light into the abdomen to project the patient’s insides onto a dedicated screen.
- The surgeon will insert additional medical instruments through three other incisions to perform the surgery.
- The expert will measure the gastric sleeve and separate the stomach with a surgical stapler.
- Once done, the remainder of the stomach will be removed, and the incisions will be closed.
VSG surgery is relatively short, taking roughly an hour or 90 minutes. Following the intervention, doctors might recommend that patients stay in the hospital for a day or two to address any temporary side effects and help with pain management.
After Weight Loss Surgery
After the intervention, patients will have frequent appointments with their providers in the following months and weeks. Experts will monitor the weight loss progress and check for any health conditions and side effects. They will also check if the patient follows the prescribed lifestyle guidelines that guarantee their weight won’t creep back on.
To that end, patients will have to follow a strict, short-term diet to ensure that the stomach heals.
Later on, patients may begin to eat normal foods but may still have to make wiser food choices. Because patients won’t be able to eat much food, they will have to opt for nutritious whole foods to meet their energy needs.
Recovery
For the most part, recovery can be a little lengthy. Experts usually say that patients will take around a month to feel like themselves and fully function. During this time, tiredness and fatigue are expected, as the body needs to adjust to the low-calorie diet.
Also, the average weight loss with this surgery is around 25% to 30% of the patient’s initial body weight in the first year or two following surgery. Depending on their post-op lifestyle habits, some patients may lose more while others less.
Learn More
You should know that bariatric surgery isn’t the easy way out. The success of the surgery doesn’t just rely on the surgeon’s medical expertise but on the patient’s dedication to make changes as well. To learn more about the procedure’s benefits and possible risks, schedule an appointment at Surgical Solutions of Miami, where you can learn more about the operation with the help of trained and compassionate experts.