Gastric sleeve surgery, also called sleeve gastrectomy, is a bariatric surgery procedure. It removes a large portion of your stomach, leaving behind a narrow “sleeve.” Reducing your stomach helps restrict calories and reduce hunger signals. This surgery is offered to help people with clinically severe obesity achieve effective weight loss.
What is gastric sleeve surgery?
The gastric sleeve, also called sleeve gastrectomy, is a bariatric surgery operation to induce weight loss. It works by reducing the size of your stomach. The word “gastrectomy” means removal of part or all of your stomach. The gastric sleeve operation removes about 80% of your stomach, leaving behind a tubular “sleeve,” about the size and shape of a banana.
What does a gastric sleeve do?
Reducing the size of your stomach is a simple way to restrict the amount of food you can eat in one sitting, making you feel fuller faster. But it also serves another purpose: it reduces the amount of hunger hormones that your stomach can produce. This helps to decrease your appetite and cravings and may help to prevent the impulses that cause people to regain the weight they’ve lost.
How common is gastric sleeve surgery?
Gastric sleeve is the most common weight loss procedure in the United States and around the world. More than half of the bariatric surgeries performed in the United States each year are gastric sleeves. The total number of gastric sleeve surgeries performed each year is about 150,000 in the United States and 380,000 worldwide. But, only 1% of people who could benefit and qualify for surgery actually get it.
Is the gastric sleeve safe?
The risks of gastric sleeve surgery are far less than the risks of having obesity and its related diseases. It also has lower complication rates than other common operations, including gallbladder removal and hip replacement. Most gastric sleeve procedures are performed by minimally invasive surgical techniques, which means less pain from incisions and faster recovery.
How is gastric sleeve surgery performed?
Most of the time, a sleeve gastrectomy is done by laparoscopic or robotic surgery. That means that instead of making a large incision (or cut) to open your abdominal cavity to access your organs, your surgeon will perform the operation through small incisions. This makes for an easier recovery, but some people may be better served by open surgery, depending on their conditions.
How long does gastric sleeve surgery take?
Compared to other weight loss surgery procedures, a sleeve gastrectomy is a relatively short and simple operation. It takes about 60 to 90 minutes. Your surgeon may still want you to stay in the hospital for one to two days afterward. This way, they can help manage your pain and any temporary side effects of surgery, such as nausea.
Will I have to follow a diet after gastric sleeve surgery?
In the short term, you will have to follow strict dietary guidelines to make sure your stomach heals well. After a few months, you may begin to eat a more normal diet, but you’ll still have to choose your foods wisely. Because you won’t be able to eat as much as before, you’ll have to make sure that what you do eat is nutritious enough to sustain your energy needs. You’ll begin taking vitamins shortly after surgery and will need to continue taking them permanently.
What is the recovery time from gastric sleeve surgery?
You should give yourself a good month before you expect to feel quite like yourself or return to work at full capacity. During this time, many people feel fatigued or tired as their bodies work to recover while adjusting to limited calories. In the early weeks, you’ll only be able to tolerate a liquid diet. Over time, you’ll gradually progress to a soft diet, and finally, solid foods.
