Home | Health

How Does The Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Type Of Weight Loss Surgery Work?

By: Donald Saunders


Read More About Health

With obesity continuing to increase in the West obesity surgery is becoming an everyday and routine form of surgery in a large number of medical facilities.

The vertical sleeve gastrectomy is a restrictive method of weight loss surgery in which in the region of 85 percent of the stomach is removed leaving a cylindrical or sleeve shaped stomach with a vastly reduced capacity ranging from about 60 to 150 cc. Unlike many other types of bariatric surgery, the outlet valve and nerves to the stomach remain in place and, while the stomach is drastically reduced in size, its function is unchanged. Additionally, unlike other types of bariatric surgery such as the time honored Roux-en-Y gastric bypass the vertical sleeve gastrectomy cannot be reversed.

Because the newly fashioned stomach functions as normal there are fewer restrictions when it comes to the foods that patients can consume after surgery, even if the amount of food eaten will be greatly reduced. This is viewed by a lot of patients as one of the principal advantages of the vertical sleeve gastrectomy, as is the fact that removing the majority of the stomach also means the virtual elimination of hormones that are produced in the stomach and that stimulate hunger.

probably the greatest advantage of the vertical gastrectomy is to be found in the fact that it does not bypass the intestinal tract so that patients do not thus experience the complications of bypass including intestinal obstruction, osteoporosis, vitamin deficiency and protein deficiency. It also makes it a suitable form of surgery for patients who are already suffering from Crohn's disease, anemia and various other conditions that would put them at risk for intestinal bypass surgery.

Lastly, it is one of of only a few types of weight loss surgery that can be carried out laparoscopically in individuals who are particularly obese.

Probably the main disadvantage of the vertical sleeve gastrectomy is to be found in the fact that it does not always result in the loss in weight that individuals would like and can result in weight regain in the longer term. This is of course true of any form of solely restrictive weight loss surgery though it is perhaps especially true of the vertical sleeve gastrectomy.

Because the procedure requires stapling of the stomach patients are at risk from leakage and other complications that are directly related to stapling. Furthermore, as is the case with any surgical procedure, patients run the risk of additional complications including small bowel obstruction, post-operative bleeding, pneumonia and even death. The chance of experiencing these complications is happily extremely small and is in the region of about 0.5 and 1%. This said, the chance of death as a result of this form of operation at approximately 0 .25% is extremely small.

As a general rule the vertical sleeve gastrectomy is best suited to patients who are either particularly overweight or whose medical condition would rule out other types of bariatric surgery. In the case of the first category the vertical sleeve gastrectomy would generally form the first of a two-part plan of weight loss, with further surgery being undertaken once the patient's weight has dropped sufficiently to allow other types of weight loss surgery to be carried out.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

GastricBypassFacts.info provides detailed information on the gastric sleeve and the sleeve gastrectomy with duodenal switch including detail of the duodenum function and the role of the jejunum tubes.

Please Rate this Article

 

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Health Articles Via RSS!

counter easy hit

Powered by Article Dashboard