Sleeve Gastrectomy - Introduction

Obesity surgery is an effective tool for achieving weight loss in patients who are morbidly obese. Among the types of obesity surgery currently available, Sleeve Gastrectomy  is relatively new and offers numerous benefits over other forms of surgery such as gastric bypass and gastric banding.

 

The procedure is performed laparoscopically, which means that the surgery is as minimally invasive as possible. The operation works by restricting the size of the stomach, thus limiting the amount of food that the patient can consume. More importantly, Sleeve Gastrecotmy produces the sensation of satiety or "feeling full" after consuming smaller amounts of food. Sleeve Gastrectomy also has metabolic effects in that it recalibrates the neurohormonal pathways your body uses to regulate your appetite and weight by removing the parts of the stomach that produce hormones that send signals to your body telling it to feel hungry and "store more fat."

 

Weight loss following Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy is commonly achieved within the first 12 months following the surgery and often enables obese patients to lose 60% of their excess weight ¹* (* Results may vary from person to person). The additional benefits of Sleeve Gastrecotmy over other forms of obesity surgery are that gastric sleeve operation achieves drastic weight loss and improvement of obesity-related health conditions, while allowing the patient to continue eating normal foods such as bread, meat, and fruit. Long-term success at weight loss and maintaining weight control is achieved by quickly returning to almost normal eating habits, consuming three healthy, balanced meals of lean protein, low-starch carbohydrates, fruits, and vegetables – just smaller portions of these normal foods.

 

There are a number of dietary restrictions that should be kept in mind by patients considering the Sleeve Gastrecotmy, guidelines that must be observed during the pre-operative period leading up to the surgery, during the recovery in hospital, during the first few weeks and months following the surgery, and finally during the transition to a fairly normal diet.

Reference:
1. Diamantis  T, Apostolou  KG, Alexandrou  A, Griniatsos  J, Felekouras  E, Tsigris  C.  Review of long-term weight loss results after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.  Surg Obes Relat Dis. 2014;10(1):177-183.