Gastric Sleeve Surgery

What is gastric sleeve surgery?

Gastric Sleeve Surgery, also known as Gastric Reduction Surgery, is one of the most preferred surgeries in obesity surgery. In this operation, the amount of food eaten by the patient is reduced while the ghrelin (appetite) hormone is removed from the body.

Gastric sleeve operations are performed laparoscopically (closed method). The operation is performed with the help of a camera and special tools by penetrating through 4 small holes in the patient's abdomen and lasts approximately 1 hour. Two hours after the operation, the patient can get up and walk on by himself.

After the operation, 2 days of hospitalization is required. After that, our patients return to their normal lives.

The gastric sleeve operation is one of the most effective interventions in obesity surgery: After six months, the patient loses about half of their excess weight, after a year about 80% of their excess weight. Because the stomach becomes smaller, and eating less food will make the person feel full sooner and lose weight because the amount of calories consumed is reduced.

Ghrelin hormone is taken out from the upper part of the stomach during surgery. The appetite-increasing hormone (ghrelin) is released from this part. As the release of this hormone decreases after gastric sleeve surgery, our appetite decreases. This makes it easier for us to lose weight.

Who Is a Good Candidate for Gastric Sleeve Surgery?

Gastric sleeve surgery is suitable for anyone who has tried to lose weight but failed and has a body mass of 35 kg/m2 or more. For people with a body mass index between 30kg/m2 and 35kg/m2, a decision is made as to whether weight-related comorbidities (diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, asthma, etc.) are present. The final decision about the operation is made after the medical examination.

What are the advantages of gastric sleeve surgery?

Obese people are at high risk of developing or developed comorbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea. Our patients who lose weight with gastric sleeve surgeries have a 90% improvement in comorbidities associated with obesity, while preventing this risk for those at risk of the disease.

With current technologies, gastric sleeve operations are performed laparoscopically. In this way, the absence of large incisions speeds up the healing process. If you prefer a surgeon who is well-experienced in gastric sleeve surgeries, you will have a comfortable and convenient surgical process.

What are the risks and complications of gastric sleeve surgery?

Gastric sleeve surgery is one of the operations with high benefit when comparing benefit-risk level. Choosing a surgeon who specializes in gastric sleeve surgery minimizes the risks of this procedure.
Risks of Gastric Sleeve Surgery;  Bleeding, embolism and leakage problems.  Bleeding and embolism are risks that can occur after any surgery.

It is possible to almost completely eliminate the risk of embolism by taking all precautionary measures. Use of blood thinners, starting the day before surgery and continuing 8 days after surgery, and wearing anti-embolic stockings nearly eliminates this risk.

Bleeding is also one of the common risks of many operations, such as embolism, and is very easy to detect thanks to the drainage after the operation.  Most of the time it can be noticed with small measures or blood supply.The risk of leakage is very low today with the development of technology and the increase of experience. Leakage is the escape of gastric fluid from the severed stomach line into the abdomen. If detected early, a leak can be treated using many methods.

What should the diet look like after gastric sleeve surgery?

After gastric sleeve surgery, your stomach volume decreases significantly. For this reason, a nutrition plan is created as follows to allow your shrinking stomach to adjust to its new shape.
From the 2nd day after the operation until the 15th day, only liquid foods should be consumed. Grain-free soups, fruit juices and protein-supported drinks are consumed.
The 15 days after the liquid period is the puree period. During this time, you can consume many foods that are not solid or that have been mixed.
In the 1st month after the operation, the solid period will start and you can start eating whatever you want.

In our clinic, the postoperative nutritional processes of our patients who have undergone gastric sleeve surgery are accompanied by our nutritionists. In addition, our patients receive books free of charge that explain which points to pay attention to when it comes to nutrition in the postoperative phase.