What's gastric sleeve surgery ?

Gastric sleeve is a very modern approach to the treatment of obesity.Now this weight loss method is very popular all over the world and many people tend to do it. Gastric sleeve surgery can be performed both in laparoscopy and open surgery, and it's mostly performed laparoscopically. In addition,ghrelin hormone , which controls the appetite and encourages the person to eat, is produced in the upper part of the stomach so in case of removing this part of the stomach one feels less eager to eat. A larg part of the stomach is removed in sleeve surgery and only 20-30 percent of the stomach remains.The weight reduction occurs quickly after surgery in a way that:

in the third month: one losses 30 percent of their weight
in the 6th month: half of patient's weight is reduced
in the 12th month: 70 percent of patient's overweight is gone

Of course, patient's commitment to the diet and weight control after surgery is very important because the stomach is able to grow and regain weight so those who are not careful with their diet may gain weight again, though this weight gain is only 10-20% of the initial state.

What's the procedure of gastric sleeve surgery ?

Fortunately, with the progress of medical knowledge, many less invasive and less painful surgeries can be performed for the patient, gastric sleeve surgery is no exception and can be performed in Iran and advanced countries by laparoscopy in a short period of time.

general anesthesia and preparing the surgical area

In laprascopic gastric sleeve surgery,first of all patient goes under general anesthesia, and surgeon inserts the laparoscopy surgical tools called trocar into the abdomen by making 3 to 5 small incisions.

filling the abdomen with gauz and inserting light guide cable for better view of the surgical area

Then patient's abdomen is filled with CO2 gas, and also the abdominal cavity becomes visible by sending a light guide cable through one of the holes.

putting the liver aside using a special retractor

In this level, surgeon can put aside the liver using special retractors to get a better view of patient's stomach

seperating the stomach from the spleen and colon

In this stage, ligaments and vessels of the greater gastric curvature are divided and the left branch of the vagus nerve remains unchanged. Stomach,spleen and colon are completely separated so they don't get hurt

splitting the stomach to remove the extra parts

A measuring device called bougie is insrerted into the abdominal cavity through the incisions to measure the different parts of the stomach and determine the parts that should be removed and those parts get marked.

sewing and stitching the new stomach length

By closing patient's new stomach length,20-30 percent of the stomach remains that has a volume of 150 ml.

Taking out the other extra parts of the stomach

At this point, after suturing around the cut area of the new stomach, the rest of the extra parts of the stomach is removed by trocar. The sutures in this area are unabsorbable to highly reduce the chance of herniation

Am i a good candidate for gastric sleeve surgery?

Losing weight using gastric sleeve surgery is not recommended for everyone and only certain people along with doctor's opinion are a good option to have the gastric sleeve surgery.

Those who have the following conditions can be a good candidate for gastric sleeve surgery:

BMI over 30 ( the higher BMI one has, the larger volume of the stomach is removed)
Morbid obesity for over 5 years
those who weight over 150 kg
not suffering from alcoholism
not suffering from an illness which causes obesity
not being successful in using other losing weight methods

Preoperative care of gastric sleeve surgery

controlling patient's general health through examinations and blood tests
starting liver special diet two weeks before surgery to reduce the size of the liver so the surgeon can have a better view of the surgical area
fasting for 8-10 hours before surgery

Postoperative care of gastric sleeve surgery

patient is discharged two days after surgery
changing in the digestive process and bowel movements for sometime after surgery is normal and you don't have to worry
it is recommended to drink large amount of water and fluids after surgery
daily walking and exercise can be helpful for faster recovery
avoid lifting heavy objects
avoid taking bath or sitting in hot bathtub for 3 weeks after surgery
must use vitamins and food supplements after surgery
it is necessary to have three small meals during the day

Benefits of gastric sleeve surgery

It is true that gastric sleeve surgery seems to be for slimming and losing weight but the significant point is that by reducing weight it treats other conditions too including:

Diabetes
sleep apnea (sudden stop of breathing during sleeping)
Asthma
high blood pressure
high blood fat
joints arthritis

many of one's health factors get improved indirectly after having this surgery.