Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy

Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy- Is Weight Loss Surgery Right for You

Weight loss is a very hot topic right now, and so is bariatric surgery. Having a procedure done to help lose weight is called bariatric surgery. Of the many kinds of bariatric surgery, I will discuss the vertical sleeve gastrectomy. Vertical sleeve gastrectomy is a permanent and restrictive procedure to help you lose weight. This procedure is a tool, not a quick fix. While this procedure can be extremely beneficial, there can be risk involved. The vertical sleeve gastrectomy is a tool for morbidly and super-morbidly obese patients. The surgeon will remove a large portion your stomach. The new smaller stomach is about the size of a medium banana, or three ounces. This procedure limits the amount of food you can eat by making you feel full after eating a small amount of food.

In the past 20 years, there has been a sharp increase in obesity in the United States. More than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) and approximately 17% (or 12.5 million of children and adolescents age 2-19 are obese (Prevention, 2011). Vertical sleeve gastrectomy is a very beneficial procedure for a patient with a very high body mass index (BMI). Body mass index is a number calculated from the patient’s weight and height. It is used as a tool to determine a possible weight problem in adults. These assessments might include skin fold thickness measurements, evaluations of diet physical activity family history, and other appropriate health screenings. The gastric sleeve is usually the first surgery of a two stage surgical procedure. The procedure takes about 60 to 90 minutes to complete. Vertical sleeve gastrectomy allows the patient to lose weight quickly. When the patient eats after having this surgery, the new small pouch will fill up very quickly. There will be a sense of fullness after eating relatively small amounts of food (Angstadt, 2012).

The vertical sleeve gastrectomy is performed via laparoscope, a tiny camera....