Sleeve Gastrectomy (Gastric Sleeve)

  • Recommended for patients aiming to lose at least 25 percent of their starting weight
  • Requires 1-2 days of hospital stay and 3-week recovery period
  • Requires patients to follow specific dietary and exercise guidelines
  • Allows patients to lose approximately 30 percent of their starting weight within one year
Sleeve Gastrectomy Illustration

Sleeve gastrectomy (or gastric sleeve) restricts the amount of food that can be eaten by removing 85 percent of the stomach. The surgeon creates a small, sleeve-shaped stomach about the size of a banana. Unlike gastric bypass, this procedure significantly reduces the stomach’s volume, without bypassing the intestines or causing any gastrointestinal malabsorption.

  • Gastric sleeve takes about 60 minutes to complete
  • It requires an average hospital stay of 1-2 days, and a 3-week recovery period
  • Patients typically lose about 30 percent of their initial weight; most is lost during the first year after surgery
  • Patients must follow specific dietary and exercise guidelines provided by the bariatric team
  • Required diet changes include eating smaller meals and focusing on adequate protein intake

Potential complications of gastric sleeve include leakage (when digestive fluids go into the abdominal cavity or surrounding areas) and stricture, which is the narrowing of the gastrointestinal tract.

This is a non-reversible surgery that may be a standalone bariatric procedure or performed as the first procedure in a two-part treatment for patients with a BMI of 60 or higher. In this case, the second part of the treatment is duodenal switch or a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

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