Gastric Sleeve Surgery

A gastric sleeve, also known as sleeve gastrectomy or bariatric sleeve, is a technique that works by restricting the amount of food intake and regulating hormone production in the gut. During gastric sleeve surgery, a patient’s stomach is reduced to 15-25% of its original size. This then helps to restrict the amount of food that you can eat, as you begin to feel full a lot quicker. The treatment also removes the hormones that are responsible for stimulating and boosting your appetite.

How Does It Work?

Gastric sleeve surgery is performed as a laparoscopic procedure. Laparoscopic surgery (also known as keyhole surgery or bandaid surgery) is a modern surgical technique in which a surgeon can conduct the entire procedure through a few small incisions (usually 0.5-1.5cm in diameter). The surgeon uses a laparoscope (a long, fibre-optic cable) inserted through a needle-like tube. Below, we’ve outlined a step by step guide, explaining how gastric sleeve surgery is performed.

1. Anaesthesia

Before the surgery can begin, the patient is given general anaesthesia. This ensures that they are completely unconscious during the whole procedure, which typically lasts 1-2 hours.

2. Incisions

Once the patient is asleep, the surgeon creates five small incisions in the abdominal wall that are then used as an entry point for a camera and specific surgical instruments. The images and video that the camera captures are displayed on a monitor in the operating room.

3. Gas Administration

The patient’s abdomen is then filled with carbon dioxide gas to create more space between the organs and ensure a safer operation.

4. Tube Insertion

Following the gas administration, the surgeon will insert a bougie tube into the stomach that will serve as the sizer of the new stomach.

5. Resizing the Stomach

The stomach is then divided into two parts. This is carried out 4-6 cm (1.5-2.5 inches) from the pylorus, the valve between the stomach and the small intestine. The surgeon then removes around 80% of the stomach and leaves a banana-shaped “sleeve”.

6. Tube Removal

The bougie tube that was inserted through the earlier made incisions is then removed. The new stomach is now only 15-20% of its original size and is closed using surgical staples.

7. Closing the Incisions

All of the surgical instruments are then removed and the incisions are closed using stitches.

How Do I Know If I Am Eligible for Gastric Sleeve Surgery?

Although eligibility for gastric sleeve surgery varies from country to country, it’s usually only recommended for any adult under the supervision of a medical professional who meets one of the following criteria:

• BMI greater than 40

• BMI greater than 35 with the presence of additional conditions related to obesity, such as type 2 diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, sleep apnea, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and/or heart disease

• BMI greater than 30 with serious health problems

It's worth noting here that in certain countries, there may be legal requirements with regards to BMI and gastric sleeve surgery. In Turkey for example — one of the most popular locations for the treatment — it is not legal to have the surgery if your BMI is under 35. Therefore, this is a factor to be aware of when planning your treatment.

For more information on eligibility for surgery in specific countries, contact us and one of our Patient Managers will be happy to provide more information.

What Is Body Mass Index (BMI) and How Do I Calculate Mine?

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a globally accepted measure of body fat based on the relationship between height and weight. While this is an effective screening tool for determining whether an individual is in a weight category that may lead to health problems, BMI alone is not a diagnostic of body fatness or the health of an individual. BMI contains various different categories for determining your weight. The categories are as follows:

• Below 18.5 → Underweight

• 18.5 - 24.9 → Healthy

• 25 - 29.9 → Overweight

• 30 - 35 → Obese

• Above 35 → Extremely Obese

How Do You Prepare for Gastric Sleeve Surgery?

Gastric sleeve surgery requires some preparation before the actual procedure can begin. It’s also important that you’re committed to all of the pre-op and post-op guidelines. This includes a pre-op diet that your doctor will ask you to follow. This will help you lose weight and reduce the dimensions of your liver, which, if overweight, can pose some risks during surgery. A pre-op diet usually includes increasing protein consumption (lean meats), reducing carbohydrate intake (pasta, bread, and rice), and eliminating sugars (candy, desserts, juices, or sodas).

What Should You Expect From Gastric Sleeve Surgery?

Following a gastric sleeve procedure, food is digested and absorbed in the same way as before, with the only difference being that it’s done in much smaller quantities. The main advantages of this particular type of bariatric surgery are that it often induces rapid and significant weight loss and involves a relatively short hospital stay (usually around two days). Gastric sleeve surgery is a non-reversible procedure and does have the potential to cause vitamin deficiencies if a proper diet is not maintained in the long term.

What Are the Lifestyle Changes That Need to Occur Following a Gastric Sleeve Procedure?

There are many factors that can contribute to successful weight loss after undergoing gastric sleeve surgery. This includes your ability to make lifestyle changes and maintain them in the long term. Following treatment, you’ll receive a nutrition and lifestyle plan from your doctor with diet and post-operative guidelines that you will be strongly encouraged to follow. Below, we’ve outlined some of the main lifestyle changes that you may be encouraged to make following treatment.

Gastric Sleeve Surgery: At Home or Abroad?

There has been an increase in the number of patients travelling to have a gastric sleeve abroad. There are a few different reasons for this, and we’ve outlined these below:

• Cost-cutting: The main driver behind an increase in the popularity of gastric sleeves abroad is the lower prices that are on offer, compared to places like the UK or US. As we saw from the table above, travelling to undergo gastric sleeve surgery in Turkey, for example, can result in significant savings in comparison to having the treatment at home.

• High-quality of care: Lower prices are great, but not when that also means a lower quality of care. Thankfully, that doesn’t have to be the case. With Qunomedical-approved doctors abroad, you can receive treatment that is fairly priced, yet still high-quality.

• Convenient packages: Many clinics and doctors abroad also offer unique treatment packages for their international patients. As well as the cost of treatment, these often include things like accommodation, airport shuttles, and transfers to and from the clinic. Interested in one of these packages? Contact us and one of our Patient Managers will be happy to help.

Popular Doctors and Locations

Interested in a gastric sleeve abroad but looking to find out more about the clinics and doctors involved? With Qunomedical, you can view a list of clinics that offer the treatment. All of these clinics have been thoroughly vetted with high-quality and fair pricing in mind. You’re also able to view specific doctor profiles. This includes checking their qualifications, accreditations, experience, and reading reviews from their past patients. Many of the leading bariatric surgery specialist are for example working at the Memorial Bahcelievler clinic in Istanbul.

Why Choose Qunomedical?

At Qunomedical, we are committed to taking a patient-first approach to healthcare. This means working to ensure that everyone is able to access high-quality, affordable care. When booking gastric sleeve surgery through Qunomedical, you’ll only be choosing from highly experienced, renowned doctors, who offer treatments at a fair price. 

✔ 100% free, non-binding assessment: We offer a 100% free, non-binding assessment to anyone interested in treatment. Contact us now and one of our Patient Managers will be in touch to get you started.

✔ Verified doctors and clinics: Every doctor and clinic that we provide you with information on has been thoroughly vetted using our proprietary scoring system, Qunoscore.

✔ All-inclusive packages: Interested in undergoing gastric sleeve surgery abroad? Many clinics offer all-inclusive packages that typically include things like accommodation, airport transfers, and a clinic shuttle service. 

✔ 24/7 support: We believe strongly in end-to-end care – from your first questions to your successful recovery. Reach your Patient Manager via phone, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or email. In emergency cases, our team can always be reached, 24/7.

✔ Price match: Found gastric sleeve surgery at the same clinic, with the same doctor, cheaper somewhere else? We’ll match the price.