The gastric surgery or gastric sleeve is an operation in which a part of the stomach is removed, leaving the remaining part shaped like a muff or a tube, which links the esophagus to the small intestine.
The gastric sleeve surgery allows to reducing the surface of the stomach up to 70% , which is approximately the size of a tennis ball or a banana (remembering the form given to the stomach)
Unlike more invasive procedures like the gastric bypass or duodenal surgery, the gastric sleeve surgery does not modify any part of the digestive system.
This allows a faster recovery after the surgery and is associated to fewer problems of malabsorption and a decrease in the number of complications.
For patients whose body mass index (BMI) is superior to 50kg/m2, the gastric sleeve is the first option before carrying out a riskier surgical intervention as the gastric bypass or duodenal switch.
The ideal candidate for the gastric sleeve
During the first consultation, after the consultant would have performed a complete physical examination and that all factors were generally taken into account, the choice of the appropriate candidate for the procedure are the following:
- All patients with a body mass index (BMI) superior to 35 or 40kg/m2
- If you are older than 18
- If the person is overweight (double the weight), compared to the ideal weight for his physical constitution and age
- If after having tried other methods like diets, weight loss programs or medicines, it did not work
- If the patient is ready to modify his alimentation and his general lifestyle
- Do not suffer from diseases due to obesity
- Patients who have been suffering from obesity for more than 5 years
Procedure of the gastric sleeve operation
The operation is carried out under general anesthesia.
It is done by endoscopy. (by placing a tiny camera to be able to see internal organs)
The surgical technique used consists of a stapling with a special laparoscopic material, using a reinforcement suture to prevent its clearance.
When the parts of the stomach are attached, the form of a long vertical tube in the shape of a banana is created.
The incisions made are so small, this is only done for the stapling, no sphincter, organ or muscle are modified, the procedure only reduces the size of the stomach, thanks to the stapling.
Advantages of the gastric sleeve operation
The gastric sleeve operation presents certain advantages compared to other procedures:
Weight loss occurs because the food quantity ingested is low and that diet and physical exercice improve this weight loss, so that the result is obvious.
With this surgery, hunger is scaled down because it eliminates the part of the stomach that is responsible for the production of ghrelin (hunger hormone), the feeling of satiety is faster.
The reduction of hunger is produced among most of our patients, but not all of them.
It is a minimally invasive surgery, compared to other bariatric surgeries, significantly reducing the postoperative complications.
The duration of the operation is shorter than that of the gastric bypass.
No change occurs at the level of the pylorus, therefore, sugars and carbohydrates have enough time to be digested, whereas the intestines remain intact.
The discharge syndrome is not produced.
Strange bodies or instruments are not introduced in the organism, avoiding
thereby the risks of intolerance, erosion or alteration.
Good to know
Remember that being nervous or anxious the day of the surgery is normal. It is important to be aware of the complications that may result from the intervention and that most of them occur in the first days after the surgery. So there is nothing to worry about.
Your surgery is probably programmed at dawn (depends on the hospital and the surgeon’s calendar).
Remember that a week before the surgery, you have to follow a rigorous diet, whereupon you should see a doctor to be informed on what to take on that particular day.
Remember also that you can eat nothing after midnight the day before the surgery.
| Gastric sleeve | 4250 € | 6 Nights |