SLEEVE GASTRECTOMY

WHAT IS SLEEVE GASTRECTOMY?

In this procedure known as Sleeve gastrectomy, a certain part of the stomach is removed by surgery and a tube-shaped stomach is left.

After the surgery, the patients easily feel full with small amounts of food, and after a while this feeling of fullness transforms into the loss of desire for food.

Another significant advantage of this procedure is that it reinforces weight loss by removal of the stomach tissue (Fundus) that produces the appetite-regulating hormone known as Ghrelin.

Ghrelin is a peptide increasing our appetite by triggering the receptors in the part of the brain involved in appetite.

Since the fundus section where Ghrelin is produced is removed in the sleeve gastrectomy operation, our desire to eat is automatically lessened. It is a very simple method and complications are very rare.

The expected loss of excess weight in several years after the surgery is 60-70%. Sleeve gastrectomy can be used as the first procedure to avoid the undesirable complications of gastric bypass procedures in patients with very high BMI.

As this surgery only restricts the amount food intake, patients do not need any vitamin or mineral supplements.

ELIGIBLE PATIENTS FOR SLEEVE GASTRECTOMY

• Sleeve gastrectomy procedure is suitable for individuals between ages 18-65, with a body mass index of 40 kg/m2 or more, who attempted but failed to lose weight by diet and exercise many times before.
• It can be administered to individuals with a BMI between 35-40 kg/m2 who have additional diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnoea.
• Surgery can be considered for individuals below a BMI of 35, who have severe illnesses.

What are the Advantages of Sleeve Gastrectomy?

• Patients can quickly lose weight and maintain their form if they adopt healthy lifestyle habits.
• As they lose weight, they gradually experience serious improvement in their secondary health issues.
• After the sleeve gastrectomy procedure, patients easily get full even when they eat even a small amount of food.
• As Ghrelin is released in the part of the stomach that is removed from the body, the patients’ desire for food lessens after the operation.
• Pyloric sphincters that control the flow of food to the intestines are preserved during sleeve gastrectomy.