Are you thinking about losing 50 to 90 pounds at one go? Gastric sleeve surgery or sleeve gastrectomy is a type of surgery that helps to reduce weight like bariatric surgery. This surgery is also known as vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG). Did you know? Gastric sleeve surgery is permanent and can be carried out with fewer incisions. This means that the chance of getting an infection is less. To know more about Gastric sleeve surgery, keep reading-
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What is gastric sleeve surgery?
Gastric sleeve surgery used to reduce the fat amount in the body and is also known to regulate the deposit of fat in the body in future. This surgery is performed in the laparoscopic procedure, which involves making of 5 to 6 minor incisions in the abdomen.
During the surgery, 75% of the stomach is removed without harming the inside mechanism. Only a narrow gastric tube or ‘sleeve’ is left behind, thus reducing the size of the stomach allowing a person to feel full after eating less amount of food. It must be noted that no intestines are bypassed or removed in the process of gastric sleeve surgery. Sleeve gastrectomy has been regarded as one of the most popular weight loss surgery in the US.
Recovery time of gastric sleeve surgery
As gastric sleeve surgery is mostly laparoscopic, reports have shown that patients heal quickly in this surgery in comparison to other surgeries performed. Most people recover within 2 to 3 days and can perform day to day activities in 3 to 5 weeks.
Gastric sleeve surgery complications
If complications arise in a gastric sleeve surgery it can be of two types: acute and chronic complications. An acute complication occurs a few days after the surgery and the chronic complications tend to occur after 6 months or more.
The complications that arise in acute surgery are-
- Body pain
- Bleeding
- Blood clotting
Long-term or chronic complications include-
Nausea
Nausea can also be regarded as an acute complication but in some cases, it is seen to stay with a gastric sleeve surgery patient for a long time. Patients should not keep such a complication unnoticed for long; instead, consult with your doctor and take the prescribed medicines.
Diarrhea
Some patients might experience diarrhea post-surgery. If diarrhea persists for a longer duration, he/she must reach out to the surgeon who can help to cure it and delaying such a condition might lead to malnutrition and dehydration.
Sagging Skin
A common after-effect of every weight loss surgery; it is the outcome of over-stretched skin during obesity. People opt for surgery to remove the sagged skin and it is recommended by doctors to carry this kind of surgery after few years of undergoing a gastric sleeve surgery as the sagged skin might disappear naturally in some cases.
A requirement for nutrition supplements
Due to a dramatic decrease in food intake, there might be certain difficulties in the absorption of adequate and nutrients in the body. To cope up with it, the patient must switch to a healthy diet which includes wholesome food like legumes, grains, fruits and tubers.
Abdominal adhesions
Our body organs and tissues are naturally slippery which allows them to move and slide against each other when the person is involved in any kind of body movement. After gastric sleeve surgery, the space inside the stomach reduces thus these tissues tend to ‘stick’ to each other, causing a pulling sensation that can give an annoying feeling or experience pain.
Gastric sleeve surgery requirements
Mostly people prefer to opt for gastric sleeve surgery if they are suffering from weight issues and weight-related diseases. People who suffer from weight-related medical conditions such as diabetes, sleep apnea or heart diseases, can improve their condition with the help of such a surgery. It’s said that 95% of the people who had gastric sleeve surgery experiences improvement in the health and are able to get back to a healthy lifestyle within a short period.
Gastric sleeve surgery cost
The cost of gastric sleeve surgery is comparatively very much less than other foreign countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. In India, the average cost of sleeve gastrectomy ranges from Rs 2.5 lakhs to 5 lakhs; whereas in the US and the UK, the cost is $8,000 to $27,000 that is Rs 5 lakhs to 18 lakhs.
Sleeve gastrectomy diet
Post gastric sleeve surgery, a person’s diet starts with sugar-free and non-carbonated liquids for the initial few days. After which the person is allowed to intake pureed food for 3 weeks, and then can skip to a regular diet is recommended along with multivitamins, calcium supplements etc. as prescribed by the doctor.
Food choices and habits that are to be taken care of after gastric sleeve surgery:
- -Chew the food thoroughly
- -Take the required medicines regularly
- -Don’t drink while consuming food. This might overfill your stomach
- -Drink water half an hour after having a meal
- -Avoid oily food, high-calorie soda and snacks
What are the side effects of gastric sleeve surgery?
Gastric sleeve surgery can be regarded as one of the safest surgery but if adequate measures are not taken post-surgery or instructions are not followed and sometimes for reasons unknown there can be few side effects. Side effects might rise also caused due to the rapid weight-lose to which the body tries to cope up with.
Some of the side effects of gastric sleeve surgery are-
- Body aches
- Dry skin
- Hair loss
- Fluctuation in moods or emotions
- Tiredness
- Feeling cold often
FAQs
Que1. Can I eat salad after gastric sleeve surgery?
Ans. Yes, you may but only after the first 3 months of the surgery. Try to avoid eating spinach. Other than that add plenty of fruits to your diet (as required by your body)
Que2. Is gastric surgery painful?
Ans. It’s normal to feel a bit of pain or discomfort after surgery but as the surgery is carried out in the laparoscopic method, the patient is known to recover fast.
Que3. What happens if you eat too much after gastric sleeve surgery?
Ans. Gastric sleeve surgery reduces the intestine size and if too much food is consumed than you may experience vomiting, nausea, dizziness, sweating etc.
Que4. Will my stomach grow back after gastric sleeve surgery?
Ans. Gastric sleeve surgery aims to reduce the size of the stomach. The reduction percentage can be as much as 85% but if a person continues to eat more and more then there are high chances that the stomach pouch will stretch and reach the size that you had before.
Que5.How long does it take to recover from gastric sleeve surgery?
Ans- The recovery period of gastric sleeve surgery is 2-3 weeks
Que6. How much weight will I lose with a gastric sleeve?
Ans-Maximum 70 % of the weight is known to decrease with gastric sleeve surgery
Que7. Does sleeve cause hair loss?
Ans- Yes, there are chances that the patient will experience hair fall but it’s not permanent, the hair will grow back with time.
Que8. Can you swallow pills after gastric sleeve surgery?
Ans- No immediately, the patient needs to crush large size pills and then swallow with water or take the medication in a liquid form for at least 2 weeks.