A “sleeve gastrectomy” is when the greater curvature of your stomach is removed, leaving behind a narrow tube of stomach the same shape as a banana. By restricting the size of your stomach in this fashion, weight loss ensues. Patients have lost up to 35-40% of their excess body weight (up to 80-100 pounds) with this procedure.

Its advantages include its high level of safety, especially if your body mass index is greater than 55 kg/m2. In addition, there is no anastomosis with the intestines, and so the leak rate is extremely small. Finally, there is no artificial implant involved, and so no adjustments are needed like in the lap band. The operation usually takes around one and a half hours.

Disadvantages include the relatively less overall weight loss than some of the other procedures, and the chance of weight regain at about one year to 18 months later. If this happens, the sleeve can be revised, or converted into another operation as part of a 2-stage approach. At your second stage you will be much lighter and healthier and have a higher likelihood of a good outcome.