Sleeve Reconstruction Procedure as an Option for Failed Gastric Sleeves

May 27, 2015 - A sleeve gastrectomy is one of the best options for patients seeking to lose weight. Dr. Gilberto Ungson and Dr Rodolfo Wilhelmy along with the Mexicali Bariatric Center team have built their prestige and reputation on safety and consistently yielding the best long term weight loss results with over 7,500 successful weight loss surgeries. The sleeve gastrectomy has the characteristic of being simple, low maintenance, and very effective in losing weight and keeping it off.

Unfortunately, not all patients have the expected results. One of the most common reasons for this is the lack of effective technique used by the surgeon at the time of constructing the sleeve. Not all sleeves are made the same so not all sleeve surgeries result in the expected weight loss. Reasons for not using a proper technique in making the sleeve include, lack of skill, trying to keep costs of materials low ( staples, mainly) and trying to keep OR time to a minimum to save money; among others.

When is a Sleeve Reconstruction an option after a failed gastric sleeve?

Mexicali Bariatric Center has been specializing in the Sleeve Reconstruction procedure as an option for a failed sleeve for several years as well as in other specialized revision surgeries.

Sleeve reconstruction surgery refers to a secondary procedure performed when the initial sleeve gastrectomy has failed to achieve the expected weight loss results when it is mainly due to a poor construction at the time of the surgery, hence the term reconstruction. This differs from a sleeve that may naturally stretch a bit over time or a patient that may regain due to poor eating habits. A sleeve reconstruction entails essentially remaking the sleeve with a more efficient technique to reach the expected weight loss goals.

Over the years surgeons at Mexicali Bariatric Center have found that many patients that approach the center with a failed sleeve never had a good tool to work with. It is common to find sleeve with an excessively big fundus or antrum or in some cases an overall too large sleeve. In such cases Dr Ungson and Dr Wilhelmy will reconstruct the sleeve to make it uniformly narrower thus giving patients a better tool to work with to achieve expected results.

A barium swallow x ray is the best way to determine if the sleeve was efficiently constructed to start with and if a reconstruction is an option for achieving significant results. Nevertheless there are some symptoms that can indicate the possibility of needing a sleeve reconstruction. These may include the following:

Eating large amounts of foods too soon after surgery and thereafter

Not feeling restriction from the sleeve

Not losing a significant amount of weight vs someone who loses and regains.

Sleeve Reconstruction is a solution with great advantages in terms of quality of life for obese patients, without the need of converting to a malabsorptive procedure and permitting the achievement of desired weight lost.

Keep in mind that sleeve reconstruction is a riskier procedure than a first time sleeve that requires the experience of revision specialists to keep risks low and have the best long term results, such as the surgeons at Mexicali Bariatric Center located inside the prestigious Almater Hospital in Mexicali, Mexico.