During the surgery
Obviously, I was asleep, and remember nothing of the actual surgery. I remember no pain, or anything for that matter. The purpose of this post is to describe the surgery for those that are curious. The gastric sleeve is named that because they basically turn your stomach, into a narrow curved sleeve. By my count, they created 7 laparoscopic incisions on my abdomen and went in via those small openings to perform the surgery. I am not even positive of the exact count because I can no longer see the scars, they are completely invisible now. I am basing that number on the bandages seen in the picture of the following post.
It is my understanding that they remove approximately three quarters of the stomach, and discard it. They keep the part that connects to your esophagus and duodenum (the beginning of your intestines) and wrap it up into the shape of a banana, and then use a special stapling device to seal it shut.
One thing to note is that nothing is bypassed with a gastric sleeve. With a gastric bypass, they keep the top part of the stomach, bypass the rest and connect it after the duodenum to your intestines. The lower portion of the stomach and duodenum are effectively bypassed and do nothing during the digestion process. The issue there is that the duodenum is necessary for the absorption of heavy metals and minerals. Because of this, those with gastric bypasses must take vitamins and mineral supplements for the rest of their lives, whereas gastric sleeve patients do not.
The gastric sleeve, on the other hand, bypasses nothing and the digestive process is the exact same as before, albeit with a much smaller stomach. A bonus to bariatric surgery, as explained by Dr. Gandsas, is that those with gastric bypass or sleeve surgery produce less ghrelin, which is the hormone that tells our brains that we’re hungry. Less ghrelin, less hunger. This quickly became apparent after the surgery. An additional bonus is that many bariatric patients are no longer diabetic after the surgery. I was never diabetic and cannot vouch for that perk firsthand, but it’s yet another key selling point to the surgery.
In the next post, I awaken from the surgery and detail the events that unfolded.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this blog is based entirely upon my experiences and observations. I am not a medical professional and you must do your own research and consult your doctor before making any changes to your eating, fitness, medication, or supplements. This general information is not intended to diagnose any medical condition or to replace your healthcare professional.