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Sleeve gastrectomy in patients over 200 kilograms

At Central Coast Surgery, we have experience and success in looking after patients weighing more than 200 kilograms or a body mass index (BMI) more than 60. These patients present extra challenges.

  1. Longer operating times
  2. Failure of gastric sleeve to create meaningful weight loss. If you start at 270 kilograms, even if you manage to lose 70 kilos, you are still a very large person.

In our experience with preparing the super-super obese for gastric sleeve surgery, we often explain that they may need to go on to further surgery down the track such as gastric bypass.

Before surgery, we ask them to go on to the Optifast diet, no food diet for four weeks. After gastric sleeve surgery, they also continue on Optifast. It is not uncommon to achieve in excess of 70 kilograms weight loss.

This video shows a 220kg man being prepared for surgery. Note that this position is maintained for the three to four hours it takes to performs gastric sleeve / sleeve gastrectomy surgery.