The Future of Weight Loss Surgeries – Gastric Sleeve Surgery

 

As far as bariatric surgeries are concerned, gastric sleeve surgery is a relatively new kid on the block. Going by the increasing number of happy and satisfied post-surgery patients, it will be no surprise if gastric sleeve surgery becomes a highly common, if not the most common, form of bariatric surgery.

Obesity has hit gigantic proportions. If one goes by statistics, nearly 5% of the entire population of the US is morbidly obese (with a BMI of 40 or more). Because of the increased incidence of obesity, the importance of bariatric surgeries is being widely recognized.

Gastric Sleeve Surgery – A Brief Overview

Known by a number of alternative names such as vertical sleeve gastrectomy, sleeve gastroplasty, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, and parietal gastrectomy, this surgery involves the removal of a major portion of the stomach laparoscopically and reducing it to one-fourth of its original size.

This surgery is usually performed on patients with a BMI of 40 or more, though gastric sleeve patients with a BMI of 35 or above may also be considered for the procedure, provided they suffer from comorbidities such as high blood pressure or diabetes. It may also be used to commence weight loss surgeries in patients who are too sick to undergo more invasive forms of bariatric surgeries such as gastric banding. In addition to reducing the size of the stomach, it also curtails the release of ghrelin, the hormone responsible for food cravings, in the stomach.

Advantages of Gastric Sleeve Surgery

• Limits the amount of food that can be eaten at a time.
• Does not change the digestive system, as it is a minimally invasive procedure.
• Less likelihood of ulcers than in the case of gastric bypass surgery.
• No likelihood of ingested food directly entering the small intestine undigested after bypassing the stomach, a condition called gastric dumping syndrome.
• Freedom from foreign devices such as the lap band.
• Leaves room for performance of other weight loss surgeries after the gastric sleeve surgery, if required.

Shortcomings of Gastric Sleeve Surgery

• Irreversible procedure.
• Lack of insurance coverage.
• Dearth of experienced surgeons as it is a relatively new procedure.

Gastric Sleeve Surgery in Medical Tourism Destinations

For people desirous of fighting morbid obesity but facing financial constraints, undergoing gastric sleeve surgery in the leading medical tourism destinations of the world, such as Mexico, India, and Costa Rica, can be a blessing, as its cost in the aforementioned countries can be significantly lower than what it costs in the developed nations.