Gastric Sleeve - Medlife Group

Gastric sleeve surgery, or sleeve gastrectomy, is a surgery for weight loss that involves removal of a large part of your stomach. However, the functions of the stomach do not change. Sleeve gastrectomy can be performed either in an open surgery, which involves a large incision, or laparoscopically, which means that small incisions are made in the abdomen to insert a small camera and the surgical instruments. With this surgery, you will feel full after eating a small amount of food due to the change of your stomach size. You might also feel less hungry because your smaller stomach will produce lower levels of a hormone called ghrelin, which causes hunger.

Reported weight loss for this procedure ranges from 60% of the excess weight to %90; better results are obtained with good adherence to dietary and behavioural guidelines. The long-term success of the surgery depends on your compliance with the advised nutritional rules. With smart food choices, regular exercise and good eating habits, patients who have had a sleeve gastrectomy will enjoy and maintain ideal results and ideal figure. Such an approach increases weight loss and prevents weight regain.

With the sleeve gastrectomy there is no foreign body implanted, as with the adjustable gastric band, and there is no complex intestinal rearrangement, as with the gastric bypass. Most patients find that after a reasonable recovery, they are able to comfortably eat a wide variety of foods, including meats and fibrous vegetables. Unlike the adjustable gastric band and the gastric bypass, the sleeve gastrectomy is a permanent procedure which offers excellent results.

Losing weight after gastric sleeve surgery can help reduce problems with type 2 diabetes, asthma episodes and blood pressure, and can help improve overall health and heart problems. Having your procedure with Medlife Group in Turkey will guarantee a quality of life improvement for you and your family as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Am I suitable for Gastric Sleeve treatment?

Gastric sleeve surgery is suitable for people that are between 18-65 years. For a person to be a suitable candidate for this surgery, his/her body mass index (BMI) must be 35 and above.

2. What is the difference between Gastric Sleeve and Gastric Bypass?

Gastric sleeve surgery is simply the procedure of unwanted portion of stomach removal. You can't lose weight faster than with gastric bypass surgery. In a gastric bypass surgery, bariatric surgeon creates a small gastric pouch, and then re-routes the small bowel. That is why it is a lot more invasive than the sleeve.

3. Can I still get treated, even if I am infected with HIV?

Data we have is not sufficient however, based on the data we have, bariatric surgery looks to be safe for HIV-infected individuals and does not have any bad impact on HIV disease progress.

4. How long does Gastric sleeve surgery take?

Surgery is performed under general anesthesia. Gastric Sleeve surgery generally takes around 1.5 hours to finish.

5. Is Gastric sleeve surgery safe?

Since the exit and entrance part of the stomach is preserved and continuity in the digestive system is ensured, the risks after sleeve gastrectomy surgery are low and some undesirable side effects are reported very little. Especially gastric sleeve surgery is very safe with our experienced doctors in Turkey.

How Does Process Work?

First Day: After your consultation with our medical consultant, you have learned that you are suitable for gastric sleeve surgery and booked your treatment for a specific date. Finally, the time has come for you to travel to Istanbul/Turkey for your treatment. After a few hours of flight, you are now in Istanbul. Great! Now, our team in the field will take you from the airport with our VIP vehicle to your hotel so that you can rest for the night and get ready for the big day.

Second Day: Good morning, you are now being taken by our team from your hotel to the hospital for your bariatric surgery. There, you will consult to our bariatric surgeon and get your pre-operative tests done. If there are no surprises, you will be taken to the operating room. After 1 or 1.5 hours of surgery, you will be taken to your room in the hospital so that you can rest.

Third Day: After a night of resting, our bariatric surgeon will check up on you and give you, your medicines. You will need to spend another night at the hospital to be sure that there are no complications, and you are good enough to be discharged from the hospital.

Fourth Day: It is your last day in the hospital. After your last check-up at the hospital, our bariatric surgeon will give, and explain you the post-pro instructions and then you will get discharged. After being discharged from the hospital, our team will pick you up from the hospital and take you to your hotel.

Fifth and Sixth Day: You can enjoy the city now, but you should do mind the post-pro instructions.

Seventh Day: It is now your last day in Turkey. You will be picked from your hotel by our field team and taken to the airport.

Pre-Op Instructions

Do not smoke. You must stop smoking and cannot start smoking after surgery. Smoking slows your healing process.

The pre-op diet is your food-consumption plan for the period leading up to your gastric sleeve procedure. Your diet is critical to the surgery’s success for three reasons: It makes the procedure safer and easier. The pre-op diet helps reduce fatty deposits around the liver, which improves surgical access to the stomach. It lowers the risk of complications. Obesity increases the risk of medical complications during and after surgery; weight loss can counteract that risk. It starts you on the habits you’ll need to make a lifelong commitment to weight control. You’ll gain the confidence that comes with settings goals and achieving them.

Two or three days before surgery you’ll need to switch to an all-liquid diet. Restrict your food intake to water, broth, gelatines, and low-calorie sports drinks (no sodas). You’ll need to cut out consumption entirely starting at midnight on the day of your surgery – even water. Failure to follow these guidelines may jeopardize your eligibility for the gastric sleeve procedure.

Certain medications must also be discontinued prior to surgery.

Continue your exercise program. This will help you and your recovery after surgery.

Post-Op Instructions

Patients are usually discharged from the hospital during the first or second day after the procedure.

Patients are asked to start moving shortly after waking up, but need to reduce their activities and are advised not to lift anything heavy during preliminary recovery.

Right after the surgery, patients won’t eat anything and will gradually transition from liquids to solid food during the following months and with stages.

You should think carefully about the calories of what you eat, how much you eat, and how can you burn the calories you take; and you should then eat a diet accordingly and definitely keep it under control until making it a habit.

Solid food should not be consumed for a period of 4 weeks after surgery. Instead, liquid foods should be taken in the first 2 weeks, and then soft foods should be consumed in the next 2 weeks. Solid foods may create pressure on your sutures and may also cause tension in your new stomach.

After the first postoperative month, you can start adding solid foods in your diet, with intent to accommodate yourself to a healthy low-calorie diet with high-protein content.

Never consume carbonated beverages after sleeve gastrectomy. Carbonated beverages may cause the accumulation of gas bubbles in the stomach.

Flour, sugar and alcohol should not exist in your life, until you reach your ideal weight.