The Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy – often called the sleeve gastrectomy – is performed by removing approximately 80 percent of the stomach. The remaining stomach is a tubular pouch that resembles a banana.

Some Advantages and Disadvantages:

Advantages

• Restricts the amount of food the stomach can hold
• Induces rapid and significant weight loss that comparative studies find similar to that of the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.
• Requires no foreign objects to be inserted in the process, and no bypass or re-routing of the food stream (RYGB)
• Involves a relatively short hospital stay of approximately 2 days
• Causes favorable changes in gut hormones that suppress hunger, reduce appetite and improve satiety

Disadvantages

• Is a non-reversible procedure
• Has the potential for long-term vitamin deficiencies
• Has a higher early complication rate than the AGB