Gastric Sleeve Surgery
Vertical sleeve gastrectomy is a surgery to help with weight loss. During surgery, a large portion of the stomach is removed.
The new, smaller stomach is about the size of a banana. It limits the amount of food one can eat, allowing patients to feel full after eating smaller amounts of food.
How does it work?
Sleeve gastrectomy works by two different mechanisms – restriction and a “chemical or hormonal” effect. The surgery reduces the size of the stomach from about 32 ounces to about 4 ounces. This restricts the amount of food a person can consume but also has an additional effect. This additional effect is to significantly reduce a person’s appetite for a prolonged period of time after the surgery. The reduction in appetite supports ongoing weight loss as it is much easier to keep food intake to a minimum when a person doesn’t feel hungry.
Am I a good candidate for treatment?
This procedure is recommended for patients:
- With a BMI of 40 or more
- With a BMI of 35 or more and a serious comorbidity such as sleep apnea, diabetes, or heart disease
Vertical sleeve gastrectomy is most often done on people who are too heavy to safely have other types of bariatric surgery.
What can I expect after treatment?
After surgery, patients should keep losing weight for up to 2 to 3 years. Conditions that may improve are asthma, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, obstructive sleep apnea, high cholesterol, and GERD.