If you are in need of sustainable weight loss to improve your medical health, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy surgery may be the right procedure for you. During laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, a large portion of the stomach is removed, leaving a narrow gastric “tube” or “sleeve.” This greatly limits the amount of food the body can digest and store, thus reducing appetite and leading to marked weight loss in a relatively short amount of time. At Lee Bariatrics, Dr. Michael Lee routinely perform laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy weight loss surgery on patients in Denton, Texas. We use our decades of combined experience and industry-leading surgical equipment to help us strive for excellent results with every procedure.
What is laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy weight loss surgery?
Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is a surgical procedure that reduces the size of the stomach to also reduce food intake. A stapler is used to remove part of the stomach to create a smaller, hollow organ to restrict the passage of food. This results in a remaining tubular stomach, also known as the sleeve. The gastric sleeve involves removing 90% of the stomach’s potential volume by removing the stretchiest area of the stomach, which leaves a much smaller tubularized 100cc pouch. The newly created stomach is reduced from the size of a football to the size of a small banana and limits the amount of food and the speed one can eat and swallow at a time. Also, by removing the stretchiest portion of the stomach called the fundus, the portion of the stomach that produces a hormone called ghrelin, one of the main hormones causing the hunger sensation, is removed.
In effect, the sleeve makes one eat slower and eat less by making one feel fuller earlier and faster preventing binge eating and providing feedback if one eats too much or eats too fast. The metabolic and hormonal effects may also help one to have a lower baseline level of hunger. Below are several fast facts about laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy surgery.
- Involves removing the stretchiest portion of the stomach
- Reduces the size of the stomach from the size of a football to a small banana, creating a tubular stomach, also known as the sleeve
- Helps to reduce the perception of hunger at baseline by removing key hormone-secreting areas of the stomach
- On average, 65% of excess weight loss can be achieved
How does it differ from gastric bypass surgery?
In a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy procedure, a portion of the stomach is removed, producing a tube-shaped stomach (sleeve). In gastric bypass, by contrast, the stomach is divided then bypassed to the intestine in order to skip a large portion of the stomach and a few feet of intestine. This allows relief of acid reflux since the bottom of the stomach produces the majority of acid in the body. The sleeve gastrectomy requires 30 minutes to an hour to perform and may offer lower anesthesia risk because it may be safely completed in shorter time and may be an excellent option for patients who desire weight loss but may not have as much risk tolerance due to preexisting medical conditions.
Who is a good candidate for laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy surgery?
Generally, gastric sleeve surgery is performed for morbidly obese adults with a body mass index over 30 who struggle with portion control.
What to expect in a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy surgery
The laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is classified as a minimally invasive surgery and generally takes half an hour to an hour in most patients, depending on the patient’s anatomy. Dr. Lee uses a 34 Fr sizing tube which is the width of a finger and meticulously dissects the entire posterior stomach away from the spleen to ensure the smallest allowable pouch. He is able to hand-sew and invert the staple line to reinforce it, adding an additional layer of protection. On average, patients will lose 1-2 lbs of fat per week until meeting their goal weight with proper coaching and counseling.
If you want to know more about this procedure or speak with Dr. Lee to find out if it would be right for you, contact Lee Bariatrics at 940-323-3450.