Is The Gastric Sleeve Worth It?

Maybe you’re a person who has struggled with being overweight or obese for many years or perhaps a lifetime. If not, we all at least know someone who has struggled with their weight. Over time, we begin to realize going through such an ongoing battle with weight is difficult to win on your own. Like many Americans, tried and true weight loss methods have failed. Much like the highly-advertised, newest diet pills, readily available liposuction, exercise, or even the classic yo-yo dieting, while trying to believe you can actually eat Mediterannean or Ketogenic or Paleo or just protein smoothies forever.

The fact is after your body exceeds a certain weight in respect to your body size, diets and exercise can only be temporary fixes for weight loss since your hormone levels change at this point. Hunger hormones control our eating and change with weight gain. Gastric sleeve surgery is a real solution, which has helped many people achieve permanent weight loss. But, with any weight loss surgery, people have to ask “is it really worth it?” Let’s dive more into the gastric sleeve surgery, why it’s so popular, and weigh the risks according to research.

How gastric sleeve works

How gastric sleeve works can be best understood in two phases.

• First, a surgeon cuts out about 75% or more of your stomach. This reduces your stomach size dramatically, so you will no longer be able to store much food in your stomach, your cravings and hunger will also be reduced from this step.
• Second, the surgeon will shape your stomach into a sleeve, or narrow tube.

After gastric sleeve, you will begin to eat much less than before, your body will absorb fewer calories, and you’ll lose more weight as time goes on. Cutting out a large portion of your stomach allows gastric sleeve surgery to change your hunger hormone levels, which will change the science of how your hunger works permanently.

Why choose gastric sleeve?

“Why choose gastric sleeve?” you may ask. Well, there are many reasons people have been choosing gastric sleeve as their go-to weight loss surgery. It has gained popularity over other more intensive weight loss surgeries since it has a faster and easier recovery for patients.

Reasons to say “yes!” to gastric sleeve:

• Offers a permanent solution for weight loss. This is not just a temporary fix, but this surgery has helped many patients lose not only tens of pounds, but hundreds of pounds and keep it off!
• It has successful results. Time and time again people say gastric sleeve has changed their life, their eating habits, their body, and their health.
• Offers patients a second chance at life. Patients are generally very pleased with their body after gastric sleeve. They may become much more physically attractive and develop new relationships in life, bringing them more happiness and fulfillment. Just take a look for yourself at real gastric sleeve surgery before and after photos!
• Cures pre-existing medical conditions related to obesity. Maybe you have high blood pressure, sleep apnea, heart disease, or even diabetes (type II), the gastric sleeve is capable of improving or curing all of these conditions.
• Cures mental health disorders related to obesity. Maybe you struggle with depression, anxiety, or simply low self-esteem related to your weight, did you know gastric sleeve surgery can cure these disorders for you?
• Can increase your fertility. Too much weight can make it much harder to get pregnant.
• Can relieve joint pain. Extra weight makes it harder for people to walk and bend their legs, putting pressure on joints. Many extremely obese people resort to wheelchair use, since the pain while walking is so unbearable.
• It is safe. The risk of death is extremely low.

The downside of having gastric sleeve surgery

The downside of having gastric sleeve surgery is that it does not come without risks. Every surgery has risks patients need to acknowledge, but as we may have already touched on, these risks are indeed minimum! Cost can also be a problem for some people, but it can be solved by choosing a medical tourism company. Let’s layout all the potential (despite how minor they may be) risks for you…

Risks of gastric sleeve surgery:

• You can develop vitamin/mineral deficiency after surgery
• There’s a chance the expected weight loss results may not be the same for you as it is for most people.
• There’s a small risk of death.
• Infection
• Blood clots
• Leakage
• Diarrhea and nausea
• Bleeding out
• Breathing problems or reactions to anesthesia
• Ulcers
• Gallstones
• Low blood sugar
• Hernia

Research

Research on gastric sleeve surgery has helped people understand its safe and successful results!

A study followed 182 super obese gastric sleeve patients up to 10 years after surgery to understand their outcomes. The study found:

• Type II diabetes was cured in 64.7% of patients.
• However, 42.9% of patients developed acid reflux symptoms.
• Weight loss (in their body’s extra weight) was 52.5%, but weight regain was seen in only 10.4% of patients.
• Medical conditions related to obesity (high blood pressure, sleep apnea, etc.) can be cured for up to 10 years after gastric sleeve surgery.

Final thoughts

Final thoughts on whether the gastric sleeve surgery is worth it depends on if you believe the benefits outweigh the risks. For most people that have had gastric sleeve surgery, the answer is “yes, the gastric sleeve is worth it!”. When you’re ready to make a change for your health, your body, your family,… your life, remember gastric sleeve surgery.

References:

1. Jet Medical Tourism. Gastric Sleeve Before and After Pictures: Best Photos (2021). Web. https://jetmedicaltourism.com/gastric-sleeve-before-and-after-pictures. Accessed: 02, May. 2021.
2. Jet Medical Tourism. Pros and Cons of Gastric Sleeve Surgery. 2020. Web. https://jetmedicaltourism.com/pros-and-cons-of-gastric-sleeve-surgery/Accessed: 02, May. 2021.
3. Castagneto Gissey L, Casella Mariolo JR, Genco A, Troisi A, Basso N, Casella G. 10-year follow-up after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: Outcomes in a monocentric series. Surg Obes Relat Dis. 2018 Oct;14(10):1480-1487. doi: 10.1016/j.soard.2018.06.021. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30093311/