Sleeve Gastrectomy

A vertical sleeve gastrectomy is a surgical procedure that can help overweight patients to achieve a healthy weight. However, the procedure involves permanently altering the patient’s stomach, so all options must be carefully considered before going ahead. The alterations to the stomach mean that patients feel fuller much quicker and consume less food as a result.

In most cases, the gastrectomy is performed in a way which makes it only minimally invasive. The surgeon will make only small incisions and insert thin surgical tools and a discreet camera in order to see the inside of the stomach during the procedure. The surgery involves removing a portion of the stomach, transforming the organ into a tube shape rather than a pouch. The remaining portions of the stomach will be stapled together with special surgical staples.

If you’re undergoing this procedure, you will be given general anaesthetic to ensure you are asleep and pain free throughout. If all goes smoothly the procedure takes between 60 to 90 minutes. It differs from other weight loss surgeries in that it is irreversible.

An estimated 85% of the stomach is removed during a vertical sleeve gastrectomy. The new tube-shaped stomach can hold up to 5 ounces of food, but it will take a number of weeks for the patient to return to normal eating habits. Immediately following the procedure, patients are required to follow a special diet to give the stomach time to heal properly, after this a diet with a small amount of food (all of it healthy) must be followed. Your doctor may recommend taking supplements to make sure you receive all the nutrients the body needs if you decide to go ahead with this procedure.

If you do undergo this operation, you should expect your weight loss to take place steadily over the course of two to three years. The vertical sleeve gastrectomy is not guaranteed to help you lose as much weight as a gastric bypass but, if you follow the recommended diet, it can reverse chronic weight related conditions ranging from high blood pressure to arthritis.

The vertical sleeve gastrectomy is done using keyhole surgery and you will be required to stay in hospital for around two days. As it is a major operation, the recovery time is, on average, longer than if you undergo just a gastric bypass.

On average, the cost of a sleeve gastrectomy is between £8,000 and £10,000.