Weight loss surgery might appear to be quite a recent development, but the fact that the first gastric sleeve surgery was performed all of the way back in the late 1980s perhaps disputes this. In other words, its past the stage of tried-and-tested – it’s pretty much become one of the traditional forms of surgery in operating theatres around the globe.
While there are now several different forms of treatment to tackle obesity, it would be fair to say that the gastric sleeve remains one of the most popular, and simpler, solutions available.
We’ll now take a look at some of the reasons why the gastric sleeve is still proving to be so popular amongst patients and surgeons – almost thirty years on since the very first procedure was performed.
It’s faster and simpler
Let’s cut to the hard and fast facts first. As every surgeon in the land will testify, the gastric sleeve is much simpler than many alternative solutions. In comparison to the gastric bypass, there are far fewer complications and in general, patients will experience much faster recovery times.
The reasons for this are simple; the gastrointestinal track isn’t being changed in the slightest. This immediately minimizes some of the prime risks that can occur with the gastric bypass, such as vitamin deficiencies.
There are multiple ways in which the gastric sleeve can help you lose weight
A lot of weight loss surgery will focus on reducing the amount of calories that your body absorbs, or just shrinking your stomach.
As part of the stomach is being transformed into a tube-like shape during this process, it would be fair to say that the gastric sleeve satisfies one of these issues. To put numbers onto this, it’s estimated that up to 80% of your stomach will be taken out as part of the procedure. This immediately means that your stomach is able to hold significantly less food, which will dissuade you from turning to more food and will make you full more quickly.
However, unbeknown to many, it also manages to affect the Ghrelin hormone, which is the hormone which makes us feel hungry. As part of the surgery, the section of the stomach which produces this hormone is removed – meaning that you will tend to feel full much more quickly after undergoing the procedure.
The upshot to this is simple; it becomes easier to lose weight over a shorter period of time.
There are no obvious changes to your stomach
This final point may seem a little absurd, as we have just spoken about how large portions of your stomach are actually removed.
Despite the above, everything still functions exactly as it did before. This can again be in contrast to alternative treatments, like gastric bypass surgery. In these cases, it’s not unknown for the body to experience some discomfort when certain foods are eaten due to a condition classed as “dumping syndrome”.
As the stomach will function exactly the same, there are no such concerns.