A surgical weight-loss surgery is a sleeve gastrectomy, sometimes known as a vertical sleeve gastrectomy. Laparoscopic surgery is frequently used for this operation, which entails introducing tiny instruments through numerous tiny incisions in the upper belly. The stomach is removed from the body during a sleeve gastrectomy, leaving behind a tube-shaped stomach that is roughly the size and shape of a banana.
Your ability to eat depends on how much food you can fit in your stomach. The surgery also triggers hormonal adjustments that help with weight loss. The same hormonal changes also aid in treating diseases like high blood pressure or heart disease that are linked to obesity.
Is Gastric Sleeve a Risky Treatment?
Gastric sleeve has risks as in any operation. Although these risks are unlikely to occur, there is a risk for everyone. For this reason, it is important that patients are treated by a successful doctor in a good hospital. Otherwise, gastric sleeve risks will be inevitable.
Gastric Sleeve Complications and Side Effects After Surgery
Indigestion
Some gastric sleeve patients may experience more heartburn or stomach distress. The reduced stomach size may be the cause of this. Alterations in how food passes through the digestive system may also be to blame.
Nausea
A common gastric sleeve side effect is nausea. While most individuals notice their nausea diminishes as they heal, other people experience it for weeks or even months.
Why some patients experience nausea following this procedure is unclear. Perhaps some of it has to do with how long food sits in your stomach. Medication for nausea may be beneficial.
Diarrhea
Some people could experience diarrhea following surgery. The balance of bacteria in your gut may change following surgery, which could lead to this. Your small intestine’s unabsorbed nutrients can also result in diarrhea.
Malnutrition or dehydration can result from diarrhea. Your gastroenterologist, or doctor who specializes in digestive disorders, may be able to help if diarrhea doesn’t go away on its own.
Sagging Skin
Your skin stretches when you put on extra weight. Sagging skin is a typical side effect of weight loss surgery, and it can start to appear months after the procedure.
An operation to remove extra skin is called a panniculectomy. Before advising this, your surgeon might want to wait until your weight has been stable for one to two years.
Stomach Obstruction
The stomach outlet narrows due to stenosis, which makes it challenging to digest food. Sometimes it can cause gastrointestinal blockage. This often happens six weeks following surgery. This issue can be resolved by a surgeon by “extending” the constrained area.
Long-Term Gastric Sleeve Complications
Long-term consequences from gastric sleeve surgery might range from minor to serious. These may appear months or even years after surgery. If you are concerned about gastric sleeve issues that could happen after a year or longer, speak with your healthcare physician.
Weight Regain
Typically, weight gain begins three years following surgery. If people don’t alter their habits, they can regain all or part of the weight they previously lost.
Food Intolerance
People who have had gastric sleeve surgery are unable to eat as much food at once as they once could. Following surgery, this may make it difficult to digest several foods, including red meat, rice, pasta, and bread.
Failure to Lose Weight
In the first few days following surgery, the stomach pouch is only able to hold half a cup of food. The pouch extends with time. Eating larger meals may cause weight reduction to halt. This could occur if the stomach pouch is overly big or if you ignore the post-operative recommendations.
According to research, between 20% and 35% of people fail over the long run. A body mass index of greater than 35 within 18 to 24 months of surgery is considered a failure rate.
Malnutrition
Malnutrition is a dangerous condition that might manifest years after the operation. It results from inadequate nutrition. When they consume fewer calories, some patients have problems absorbing enough nutrients, particularly if they are experiencing diarrhea or nausea.
To keep you healthy, your doctor could recommend vitamins, minerals, medications, or other things.
Gallstones
Any type of weight-loss surgery increases the risk of gallstones, which are solids that develop in the gallbladder. These typically show up 18 months after the operation. As a result, people occasionally require a cholecystectomy, or surgery to remove the gallbladder.
Abdominal Adhesions (Scarring)
The abdominal organs’ tissues are slick. When you move, they may easily avoid one another thanks to this. You may experience scarring days to years following surgery, making tissues “sticky” and resulting in a pulling sensation. Your small bowel may occasionally become blocked by these scars.
Incisional Hernia
When an organ presses through a muscle or tissue weak point, a hernia develops. Any procedure can result in a hernia. It happens less frequently during laparoscopic, or minimally invasive, procedures, which are frequently used for gastric sleeve surgery.
However, a hernia could appear months or even years later. A hernia appears as a protrusion near your incision.
