Laparoscopic vertical gastric sleeve with NUBARICS®
Every bariatric and metabolic surgery will improve a patient’s weight and metabolism; they are similar in weight loss rate and benefits, that’s why some patients may get confused when choosing between them. Understanding their characteristics, benefits, and advantages is key. With the help of your doctor, you will find the one that suits you best.
UNDERSTANDING GASTRIC SLEEVE
Gastric sleeve is an irreversible surgery that has become the most performed bariatric procedure in the world. NUBARICS® surgeons suggest gastric sleeve in young and low BMI patients; in regards to metabolic conditions, without them, or recently diagnosed. Still, it can be the suggested surgery for high BMI patients in whom a surgeon will rather perform a first shorter surgery. Below are ten characteristics, benefits, and advantages of the sleeve surgery.
1. Less invasive
Laparoscopic gastric sleeve surgery only modifies the size of the stomach; this procedure does not modify the food route along the small intestine. It does not require stomach to small intestine anastomosis (connections).
2. Affordable
Since this procedure requires less surgical complexity, time, and materials, it is the most affordable form of bariatric and metabolic surgery.
3. Restriction and craving control
Gastric sleeve is a restrictive procedure. By removing part of the stomach during surgery, its capacity is reduced by 70% to 80%, thus, the amount of food and calories a person can ingest is restricted. Patients can then stop the progression of obesity by cutting calorie intake and resolve it by using the excess of weight as a source of energy.
The portion of the stomach removed carries the glands that produced Ghrelin, the hunger hormone; therefore patients experiment a drop in cravings as well. This is considered a second mechanism by which this procedure works.
4. Nutrient absorption
Since the gastric sleeve does not modify the anatomy and functionality of the small intestine, food nutrients of your post-operative regime are fully absorbed, not meaning that a patients restricted low-calorie diet will provide enough vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients, omegas, and essential amino acids. You may still want to support their health and nutrition with supplements.
5. Surgery and recovery
The laparoscopic gastric sleeve surgery is performed in 60 minutes or less. You may have read lower surgical times elsewhere, but come on, your surgery is not a race for us, NUBARICS® surgeons are safe and professional; they will not try to break a record with your surgery. Precision, details and the safety leak test, take time. I suggest you also read the blog on how time is spent in the operating room during bariatric surgery.
Hospital stay under NUBARICS® care is 3 days; we do not send our patients to a recovery house.
A safe return to office activities is one week, physically demanding: one month, full recovery time: 6 weeks. Don’t get confused by the small laparoscopic incisions on the skin, because on the inside, bariatric surgery is major surgery.
6. Documented results
Results are similar in all of the bariatric surgeries. According to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBC), patients may lose as much as 60% of excess weight six months after surgery, and 77% of excess weight as early as 12 months after surgery.
https://asmbs.org/resources/metabolic-and-bariatric-surgery
7. Advantages of losing weight with bariatric and metabolic surgery
Improvement of metabolic, respiratory, cardiovascular, skin, joint conditions and diseases; such as Insulin resistance syndrome, glycosylated hemoglobin results (Hba1C), blood glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides levels, blood pressure, sleep apnea, asthma, fatigue and many more illnesses related to being obese.
8. Risks and complications
NUBARICS® effort in the selection of medical professionals, patients, and hospitals is to reduce and avoid complications. On NUBARICS® surgeons accounts: skin incision infection, gastric incision bleeding (lower than 1%), gastric content leak that may result in peritonitis (lower than 1%), blood clotting (lower than 1%), reflux may occur in a low percentage of patients, most of it with the previous history of the disease.
Occasional and temporary loss of muscle mass, hair loss, and skin sagging of skin in high BMI patients may occur.
9. The Mortality rate
Although any surgery carries a risk to the patient, you will be amazed by the low mortality rate of weight loss surgery compared to other procedures. Overall bariatric and metabolic surgery mortality rate is about 0.1%, lower than gallbladder surgery with a rate of 0.7%, and hip replacement surgery with 0.93%. Still, there is a method for making your surgery even safer: avoid paying the industry’s low-end prices. Every price cut requires a cost cut; it may be a fee, service, underpaid professional, or a hospital with insufficient staff or without bacteriological surveillance, or the necessary equipment to treat an unexpected emergency.
Hopefully, this blog will provide you with helpful information to discuss with your surgeon in regards to your future surgery.
At NUBARICS® we don’t just help people lose weight. We put them in a path to a healthier, happier life.
Call today:
1.619.573.4667 | 1.855.700.2522
Dr. Gabriel Gutierrez
NUBARICS® pre- and post-operative support coordinator