Type of Surgery
Information
Last updated: 11/24/2009
Obesity is a complex disease that can be influenced by both genetics and the environment. Factors leading to obesity are many and include internal emotional states and drives, external cues and pressures as well as behaviors learned over many years. There are many approaches to weight loss and no single approach is right for every person. Obesity’s negative impact on health is profound, affecting nearly every organ system in the body and causing life-threatening illnesses. In some cases, usually after various other approaches have failed and a person remains obese, bariatric surgery is not only an option, but a life-saving intervention. Prevalence studies show that obesity is particular problem in the United States affecting one in five men and one in four women.
Vertical sleeve gastrectomy is a rather new bariatric procedure and offers new hope to those whose BMI is too high for traditional bariatric surgery. This procedure has been performed in patients whose BMI is greater than 35 but can be safely performed in people whose BMI is greater than 60. Generally gastric bypass and duodenal switch procedures are contraindicated in patients whose BMI is greater than 50. Also, in very high BMI individuals, adjustable gastric banding may not be the method of choice. Therefore, sleeve gastrectomy has provided a much needed intervention in a population of patients who are at particular risk for obesity-related diseases.
This procedure is also advantageous for patients who are concerned about living with an internal foreign body—mandatory situation with adjustable gastric banding. Also, some reports suggest that individuals with lower BMI may have superior weight loss results with vertical sleeve gastrectomy than adjustable gastric banding such as Lap-Band®. Some advantages of sleeve gastrectomy over gastric bypass surgeries is that most vitamin deficiencies are avoided and adequate nutrition is maintained. One drawback to this surgery as opposed to many others is that it is irreversible, although it can be revised to include a malabsorption surgery.
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The video provides a detailed look at the bariatric surgery known as sleeve gastrectomy. The narrator explains how sleeve gastrectomy leads to weight loss for the bariatric patient.
Other Information
Sleeve gastrectomy is a surgical weight-loss procedure in which the stomach is reduced to about 15% of its original size, by surgical removal of a large portion of the stomach, following the major curve. The open edges are then attached together (often with surgical staples) to form a sleeve or tube with a banana shape. The procedure permanently reduces the size of the stomach. The procedure is performed laparoscopically and is not reversible.
Sleeve gastrectomy is usually performed on extremely obese patients, with a body mass index of 40 or more, where the risk of performing a gastric bypass or duodenal switch procedure may be too large. A two-stage procedure is performed: the first is a sleeve gastrectomy, and the second is a conversion into a gastric bypass or duodenal switch. Patients usually lose a large quantity of their excess weight after the first sleeve gastrectomy procedure alone, but if weight loss ceases the second step is performed.
Other Information
Weight loss usually reaches a maximum between 18 and 24 months after Bariatric Surgery - 2004.
From: Bariatric-Surgery.info
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