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Gastric sleeve

Today, the "gastric sleeve" has become the most popular and frequent operation within the surgical options for the treatment of obesity. This trend is due to the fact that this operation is considered a procedure of less technical difficulty and is associated with a profile of less frequent and severe complications. Other desirable characteristics include satisfactory weight loss, a significant metabolic (anti-diabetic, etc.) outcome with a lower frequency of nutritional deficiencies and long-term complications.

The operation is carried out as follows:

  • Like the rest of our operations, the procedure is carried out by a laparoscopic technique.

  • The greater curvature of the stomach is carefully separated from the blood vessels that nourish it.

  • Division is initiated with surgical staples of approximately 80% of the stomach, leaving a small remnant that preserves gastrointestinal continuity.

  • The absence of bleeding and the integrity of the staple line are verified.

  • The resected portion of the stomach is removed through the larger diameter port.

  • We generally apply a suture reinforcement over the staple line.

  • The larger ports are closed with sutures and the procedure is concluded.


What are the benefits associated to the Gastric "Sleeve"?

  • You can expect to lose around 60 to 70% of your excess weight.
  • A satisfactory "anti-diabetes" effect is obtained.
  • Intestinal manipulation and reconfiguration is not required, so complications in this regard are non-existent.
  • Besides diabetes mellitus, many other diseases associated with obesity can remit partially or totally. Among them are: migraine, hypertension, dyslipidemia, asthma, pseudotumor cerebri, stress urinary incontinence, gout, joint and back pain, fatty liver, sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux, venous insufficiency (varicose veins), polycystic ovary syndrome, among many others.
  • 95% of patients report a significant improvement in their quality of life.
  • Potential improvement in fertility
  • Years of life are gained (89% reduction in mortality at 5 years, between 8 and 13 years of gain in years of life).
  • Significantly decreases cardiovascular risk (heart attacks and other diseases).
  • Usually there is an improvement or resolution of depression and other psychosocial aspects, such as self-esteem, changes in self-perception of body image, etc.
  • A lesser degree of vitamin and nutritional supplementation is required after surgery.

In what way does this operation act on obesity and its associated diseases?

  • By restrictive route: the creation of a small tubular stomach that commonly corresponds to 20-30% of the organ under normal conditions results in a restriction of the size of the portions that can be ingested, thus reducing the amount of calories consumed
  • By hormonal route: the greater curvature of the stomach or portion that is divided and extracted during the operation, it’s also the richest part in Ghrelin producing cells. As explained above, Ghrelin is one of the appetite regulating hormones. The decrease in Ghrelin production results in a significant decrease in appetite. Other hormones such as GLP-1, GIP, etc., also suffer a significant modification of their levels in patients who have undergone a gastric "sleeve". These hormones have a powerful effect on the secretion and release of insulin, which allows patients with diabetes mellitus to enjoy a significant improvement in the state of their disease.


What to expect from the procedure and hospital stay?

  • The surgery is performed laparoscopically and it takes less than an hour on average
  • Postoperative pain is generally not significant and is adequately controlled with commonly used pain relievers.
  • It is started with oral fluids the day after surgery.
  • The total hospital stay is 1 night on average.
  • The patient can ambulate from the day of surgery.
  • It is usually possible to return to normal activities within the first 7 to 10 days after the procedure.