Sleeve Gastrectomy

Obesity in the United States has been increasing at an alarming rate in the past 50 years, and presently over 98.7 million US residents are affected. In 2014, obesity and its related co-morbidities accounted for 14.3% of U.S. heal care expenditure. Weight loss surgery is considered a safe and durable treatment option for obesity. The applied techniques have been continually evolving and yielding better outcomes.

Sleeve gastrectomy, one of the most popular bariatric surgeries in the modern era, was first performed in 1990 as the first of a two-stage operation for biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (BPD-DS). The first laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy was performed in 1999. The original indication for a sleeve gastrectomy was in patients with super obesity (BMI>60) to induce weight loss to more safely undergo the second stage BPD-DS. While following these patients, it was noted that they were having excellent reductions in excess body weight and in 2008 the indications for laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) were published. When compared to other weight-loss surgeries, sleeve gastrectomy is technically easier with relatively less morbidity and thus has become the most common weight loss surgery performed in the United States.