Sleeve Gastrectomy - Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy - Anatomy - The Operation

Sleeve Gastrectomy

Morbid obesity is increasing at alarming rates and it has become an epidemic. Studies show that as many as 30% of the population in US alone is obese. As per National Institute of Health NIH guidelines, surgery, Bariatric surgery in particular, is the effective way of treating the patients with morbid obesity and it will help the individual to lead the quality life. Bariatric surgery has achieved high success rate and is performed gastrointestinal operations in the United States.

Sleeve Gastrectomy: Category of Patients

Obese patients with the following prerequisites can go for Sleeve Gastrectomy:

• Patient should be at least 18 Years of Age
• Patient whose body mass index (BMI) of at least 40 and above. This would eventually mean that the male patient should have at least 100 pounds the female patients should have at least 80 pounds.
• Patient whose body mass index (BMI) is 35 and above.
• Patients having obesity-related health conditions like type II Diabetes, Hypertension, Sleep Apnea, severe Arthritis, Asthma, Hypercholesterolemia, Cardiovascular diseases

There are many safe and simple surgical procedures for treating the morbid obesity and they are generally categorized into two - Restrictive and Malabsorbtive. The restrictive surgical procedures include Adjustable Silicone Gastric Banding (LAP-BAND) and Sleeve Gastrectomy, and the Malabsorbtive procedures include Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass. More specifically, Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass is a restrictive operation which is performed using the Malabsorptive component.

Sleeve Gastrectomy: Procedure

Sleeve Gastrectomy is carried out under an experienced eye of Bariatric surgeon. The procedure of the surgery involves making 5 incisions and it takes almost an hour to get completed. A simple “Leak Test” is also performed by the surgeon in the operation theater. The patient who undergoes Sleeve Gastrectomy does not involve placement of a gastric tube in the stomach, and moreover, the recovery time is not more than a week.

Morbid obesity is defined as twice the ideal body weight as calculated from the Metropolitan Life Insurance height/ weight tables. It can be identified by patient's BMI which at some centers is recorded as part of initial vital signs. BMI is calculated by dividing the weight in Kilograms by square of the height in Meters (Kg/m2). Individuals whose BMI is between 25 and 29.9 are termed overweight. Those with BMI between 30 and 35 are considered obese; those with BMI between 35 and 40 are severely obese, whereas those above 40 are morbidly obese. BMI above 50 is known as super obesity.

Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy

The procedure involves laparoscopy to restrict the food intake in the stomach. The procedure is performed by the trained laparoscopic surgeon who takes 80% of the stomach is removed and as the result of which the stomach takes the shape of tube or "sleeve." The remaining 20% of the stomach can hold around 100-150 ml of the content by volume

As the result of Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy, the production of Ghrelin, a hunger regulating hormone is reduced. The procedure gives an impressive weight loss than the Gastric Banding, and moreover the effect is long term. The surgical procedure has no Malabsorbtive component and therefore the chances of patient suffering from any protein and vitamin malnutrition is quite less as compared to Gastric Bypass Surgery. Further, the possibilities of obstruction and ulceration dumping are also negligible. The surgery is easy and recuperative time is also less

Sleeve Gastrectomy - Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy - Anatomy - The Operation