About the Surgery I'm getting

Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy

The laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy leads to weight loss by reducing the size of the stomach, making you feel full after eating only small portions. Approximately 75% of the stomach is removed, leaving behind a smaller, tube-shaped stomach (or “sleeve”). This limits the amount of food that is required to feel full. In addition, the portion of the stomach that makes the hormone Ghrelin, which is responsible for making us feel hungry, is removed.

This is the newest weight loss surgery procedure, and is performed laparoscopically by Dr. Roller. Advantages of the procedure include no implantation of an artificial device, no re-routing of the intestinal tract, and less frequent follow-up as compared to the lap band. The primary disadvantage of this procedure is that there are no long-term data available regarding weight loss, as it is the newest of the procedures, and the sleeve tube could dilate (or stretch) with time. Preliminary weight loss results are very promising and are very similar to those of the Gastric Bypass procedure.

Dr. Roller is a national teacher/preceptor for Covidien on the sleeve gastrectomy, teaching a course once per month to surgeons from across the country on how to perform the laparoscopic sleeve gastrecctomy. He has trained over 20 surgeons in the technique. He will teach a Masters Sleeve Gastrectomy course in Portland, Oregon in September, 2009.