Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy

Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy Surgery is also know as Sleeve Gastroplasty, Tube Gastroplasty, or Tube Gastrectomy.

The “lap sleeve” or “gastric sleeve” allows you to eat less more readily. Losing weight and eating less with a sleeve occurs partially because:

(a) you’ll have a smaller stomach size after lap sleeve surgery and

(b) your appetite is reduced due to the hormonal changes that occur with surgery.

You want to eat less in order to lose weight. With a sleeve, the stomach holds LESS volume; therefore you consume less food volume and far fewer calories, resulting in weight loss after surgery.

Advantages of Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy Surgery

This operation is the most recent advancement in weight loss surgery. It is also known by many other names including Tube Gastrectomy It involves removing two thirds of the stomach and is not reversible. It usually achieves more than 75% excess weight loss.

Over 80% of obesity related conditions improve or resolve. It lies between the gastric band and bypass with regards weight loss, surgical risks and complexity. The entry and exit points of the stomach are the native parts (gastrooesophageal junction and pylorus), which makes eating Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy a new version of stomach stapling for weight loss feel more natural than with the other procedures. The lifestyle and eating style changes needed to maximise the results of this operation are less. It can be converted into a bypass operation if required for further weight loss but this is rarely required.

The weight loss achieved is partly due to a smaller stomach and less hunger. Patients do not experience “dumping” (feeling unwell if certain foods such as fats and sugars are eaten) mal-absorption or excessive weight loss, each of which can occur in bypasses. The Sleeve has the most natural eating style. People who have a Sleeve eat just like they do before the operation but in much smaller amounts, eat more slowly and need to chew well. Bands, however, give a restricted feeling and potential for blockages when eating, and bypasses require avoiding certain foods to prevent dumping, malabsorption symptoms and malnutrition.

A smaller stomach

Your stomach after sleeve ‘gastric sleeve’ surgery simply cannot hold anywhere near as much food initially. The volume of food you can eat does increase with time after surgery; however, it does not return to the previous volume.

Reduced capacity to consumer calories results in significant weight loss for patients who follow the proper post-surgery nutrition requirements. As with all weight loss surgeries and people who want to change their bodies and their lives, patients need to learn to manage daily stress and adopt a healthy lifestyle that also involves regular exercise and adequate water intake.

The stomach holds food and when a meal or drink fills it up it starts stretching and we call this feeling satiation or “I am full”. The Sleeve decreases the amount of food the stomach can hold and therefore what can be eaten. Over time, the stomach does not enlarge and so fullness continues to occur early in a meal.

Does it Really Work?

Everyone asks if Gastric Sleeve surgery is effective for weight loss. This Sleeve Gastrectomy or gastric sleeve operation is rapidly increasing in popularity in Australia. It sits between lap band surgery and gastric bypass surgery, with respect to the amount of weight loss that is typically achieved for patients.

Although only recently available in Melbourne and Australia as a whole, there is ever increasing evidence that gastric sleeve surgery is reliably effective – very effective for patients who are motivated and willing to follow the recommended eating plans after weight loss surgery.

After the first 3 to 6 months, most patients find the weight loss and weight management quite straightforward.

Hence, follow-up after weight loss surgery involves many less appointments for a gastric sleeve when compared with other weight loss operation options.