During this surgery, the surgeon removes ¾ of your stomach, leaving a small narrow tube.
It works by reducing your stomach size and therefore restriction the amount of food that can be eaten.
It can also affect the hormones which regulate your appetite, making you feel less hungry.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of having a Sleeve Gastrectomy?
Benefits:
- You can expect to lose 50 - 60% of your excess body weight after 2 years.
- It can be converted to a full bypass if needed
- Evidence suggests that gut hormones can be altered which affects appetite.
- Compared to the bypass, less likely to suffer nutritional deficiencies unless the diet is unbalanced. However, with such a relatively new procedure, please note this may change as new evidence is collected.
Drawbacks:
- It is a relatively new procedure as a ‘standalone’ treatment, so longer term data is not yet available.
- It is non-reversible as 75% of the stomach is removed from your body.
- You may not lose or maintain weight loss if you do not stick to healthy eating and lifestyle guidelines.
- Its effects on appetite may only be temporary
- It is recommended you avoid alcohol for 1 year after surgery. After 1 year, if you decide to start drinking alcohol, please limit.
Patients undergoing a Sleeve Gastrectomy or One Anastamosis Gastric Bypass will require a pre-operative endoscopy to rule out Gastric Reflux disease.
