The gastric sleeve, which is also frequently referred to as the vertical sleeve gastrectomy or merely the sleeve gastrectomy, has been carried out for a number of years and bariatric surgeons often perform the procedure as the first procedure in a two part weight loss surgical process.
For patients who are seriously and who have a BMI of over 60 traditional gastric bypass surgery, like the roux-en-y, carries very high risks as a result of which the gastric sleeve is performed as this operation can generally be performed laparoscopically with very little risk. Then, when you have lost enough weight, a further procedure in the form of classical gastric bypass surgery can be carried out.
In recent years the view of the gastric sleeve has altered and it is now being used more and more as a stand-alone procedure which is capable by itself of producing results like those seen with lap band surgery.
For those who are afraid of lap band surgery because they are concerned about having a foreign body implanted into their abdomen, the vertical sleeve gastrectomy can be an appealing option. Likewise, it also presents an alternative for those patients who are worried about potential long-term side effects of classical gastric bypass surgery like anemia, intestinal obstruction, ulcers and protein and vitamin deficiency to name just some.
Yet another group of individuals for whom the vertical sleeve gastrectomy can be a life-saver are those individuals with an existing medical condition which precludes traditional obesity surgery. People for example with Lupus, Crohn’s disease, anemia and a variety of other conditions.
The gastric sleeve is a restrictive as opposed to a malabsorption procedure which produces weight loss by restricting how much you can eat. As a purely restrictive form of surgery weight loss is slower than it would be with bypass surgery however you also avoid several of the side effects and complications linked to bypass surgery. Despite the fact that there is no long-term data available yet for the sleeve gastrectomy as a stand-alone procedure initial studies indicate that high BMI individuals (with a BMI of between 50 and 60) can expect to lose about half of their excess weight in the first year after surgery. This figure increases to more than two-thirds of excess weight for lower BMI individuals (with a BMI of between 30 and 40).
In weight loss surgery terms the vertical sleeve gastrectomy fits in between the gastric band and the gastric bypass and is generally a good choice for people whose overall health means that gastric bypass surgery is inadvisable and for a lot of patients it can result in sufficient weight loss to make a significant difference to their state of health and lifestyle.