Sleeve gastrectomy is a new procedure that induces weight loss by restricting food intake. With this procedure, the surgeon removes approximately 60 percent of the stomach laparoscopically so that the stomach takes the shape of a tube or "sleeve."
This procedure is usually performed on superobese or high risk patients with the intention of performing another surgery at a later time. The second procedure can either be a gastric bypass or duodenal switch.
This combined approach has tremendously decreased the risk of weight loss surgery for specific groups of patients, even when the risk of the two surgeries is added.
Most patients can expect to lose 30 to 50% of their excess body weight over a 6 - 12 month period with the sleeve gastrectomy alone. The timing of the second procedure will vary according to the degree of weight loss, typically 6 - 18 months.
Recovery is rather quick, it only requires of 2 hospitalazion days and the patient will be able to do his daily task round the 5 th and 7 th day after surgery.
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