A vertical sleeve gastrectomy is a form of bariatric surgery performed to reduce the size of one’s stomach. It is irreversible and has become very popular among most individuals whose efforts to lose weight through exercise and diet have proved futile. It can also be performed as a secondary bariatric surgery to help morbidly obese patients lose some weight before undergoing a more invasive procedure such as a gastric bypass. It is an inpatient procedure that requires a one or two-day hospital stay.

Positive Reviews

The procedure has over the years received some great reviews. 40-year-old Janet Capeman weighed 265lbs and at 5’9” she had a BMI of 39.4. Having struggled with weight issues all her life, she decided to go bariatric surgery. Initially, she thought she would get a lap band but her friend recommended that she look into vertical sleeve gastrectomy. After consulting with her primary physician and other experts in this field she decided to get the procedure. Her insurance, however, wouldn’t cover the surgery and she worried about finding the money to get it done on her own. She learned of a great doctor in Mexico and left for the surgery which was successful with no complications. In six months she had lost more than 50lbs.

25-year-old Hackensack had been morbidly obese for a period of three years and he decided to go through the vertical sleeve gastrectomy surgery. He had his surgery performed in Tijuana for $4,500 all expenses included. In two days following surgery he was discharged and although adapting to the new diet was not easy, in a couple of months he had fully adapted and in a year his weight had dropped to 138lbs.

Although the possibility of getting complications from surgery is completely low, some individuals have had pretty frightening experiences. Miranda from Texas, for instance, had a BMI of 47 when she had the surgery done. Her surgeon performed the surgery as a secondary procedure that would help her lose weight so as to undergo gastric bypass. Unfortunately, during recovery, she suffered from a stable leak that led to infection and she had to go through three other surgeries to fix the problem and fight the infection. This complication not only affected her recovery process and period, but it also deterred her from going through the gastric bypass.

Another patient who suffered complications from a vertical sleeve gastrectomy is Campbell from Arizona. When he realized the insurance couldn’t pay for the procedure in the United States, he decided to get the surgery from Mexico. After two days he returned to the United States and was to attend post-op clinics from a doctor in the US. At first, he felt okay and was sure the surgery was successful. But then he started experiencing extreme abdominal pain, vomiting even when he had not eaten, nausea and chills. The medication he was on didn’t seem to work. It was then that computed tomography scan of his abdomen showed that he was suffering from an abdominal abscess. He had to go through percutaneous drainage and got a strong antibiotic prescription to treat the infection.