Gastric Sleeve Surgery, Gastric Band Surgery - BENEFITS
There are different types of gastric surgery - gastric sleeve surgery, gastric band surgery etc...
Laparoscopic gastric band surgery has many benefits. They include:
- Reversible - but I have never met anyone who wishes to revert to an obese state.
- Adjustable
- Lower initial death rate from gastric sleeve surgery
The major disadvantages of gastric bands include:
- Long term discomfort or pain from irritation of stomach lining from Gastric sleeve surgery
- Erosion into stomach (the band may slowly eat through the stomach wall causing a hole)- this requires further gastric sleeve surgery that could be life threatening, requiring life support machines
- Slippage of band (the lower part of the stomach may shoot through the band causing an enlarged upper pouch)- this causes nausea, reflux and vomiting
- Malposition of the band (causing a kink in the stomach ) or the band may not encircle the stomach properly giving no restriction of food passing through and therefore failing to achieve weight loss
- Problems with the port (requiring further surgery to replace or reposition)
- Internal bleeding
- Infection
- About 30% of gastric band patients fail to lose weight
- 30-40% of gastric band patients require re-operation of a gastric sleeve surgery over time, including removal of gastric band or conversion to sleeve gastrectomy or gastric bypass.
- Requires long term monthly follow-up which is time and labour intensive. Patients will require monthly needle adjustments to achieve weight loss
Sleeve gastrectomy benefits:
- Almost everyone will lose weight once gastric sleeve surgery has been performed
- Keyhole surgery-similar length of stay and recovery to gastric band
- No monthly follow-up nor needle injections required
- If no complications arise within the first two weeks, it is unlikely that any major complication arises in the longer term
- Much more early and rapid weight loss than gastric band
- Higher cure rate for diabetes
Potential complications:
- More obese patients may need a second procedure a few years down the track after gastric sleeve surgery
- Bleeding in the staple line requiring take back to the operating theatre for bleeding cessation.
- Higher chance of dying initially due to breaking open of stomach staple line
- Breaking open of staple line of stomach may require major non keyhole re-operations and being placed on life support machine - there is a 1% chance of this happening and this could mean staying in hospital for many months, being fed through a vein or through the nose
Central Coast Weight Loss and Minimally Invasive Surgery provide people with weight issues a specialist surgical and weight loss clinic. Dr Ken Wong, a specialist weight loss surgeon specialises in Lap Band Surgery, Sleeve Gastrectomy and other procedures requiring keyhole surgery.