Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy

The laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is a minimally invasive laparoscopic procedure that removes about 75–80 percent of your stomach, leaving a narrow tube, or "sleeve," of stomach tissue.

This restricts the amount of food that a person can eat and changes the way the stomach produces the hunger hormone called ghrelin, reducing the feeling of hunger and resulting in weight loss.

Candidates for this surgery

The laparoscopic sleeve surgery is best suited for those at the highest risk for surgery, either due to their weight or other medical conditions. It can serve as a first step to gastric bypass or can be a single procedure for weight loss.

Laparoscopic sleeve surgery is performed on an inpatient basis with a surgery time of 1.5-3.5 hours and a medical center stay of about two to three days. Patients can return to normal activities in two weeks and are usually fully recovered in three weeks.

Results of the procedure

Depending on their pre-operative weight, patients typically lose 40-70 percent of their excess weight in the first year after surgery.