IGS Improved Gastric Sleeve®

Depending on the type of gastric sleeve surgery requested, prices vary from around $6,500 to $9,000 dollars. We suggest you look into testimonials online, talk to other patients, and don’t be misled by price. The savings by coming to OCC is around 50% of the cost in the US. Don’t risk it by looking for the lowest price. Your health and wellbeing are very valuable.

Included in the cost of your gastric sleeve surgery:

• 1 night stay at our world-renowned hospital
• 1 night stay at a local 5-star hotel
• Luxury transportation to and from the San Diego International Airport
• Team of three board-certified surgeons, including two anesthesiologists
• All operating room costs and surgical materials
• All pre-op evaluations and follow-up care

These different bariatric surgery procedures work differently. They both have pros and cons and you would definitely want to discuss this with your surgeon. We prefer the least invasive bariatric surgery that offers the best results, so we always recommend a sleeve surgery before the bypass. You can always move up to a bypass from a sleeve.

In the fight against obesity, the only proven method that outlasts common methods is bariatric surgery. Recent advances in the field prove that weight loss surgery not only dramatically influences the weight, it also balances out the metabolism of an individual, especially insulin and blood sugar levels. This is why weight loss surgery is now called ‘Metabolic surgery’. How surgery regulates insulin, blood sugar, diabetes, cholesterol, lipids, and sleep apnea is not completely understood. However, it does directly impact, control, and often cure these life-threatening diseases. 

OCC’s complication rate is one of the lowest in the published literature. Add that to the benefits of the IGS Improved Gastric Sleeve®, and suddenly, the results are more promising than ever. 

OCC surgeons perform a gentle, short bariatric surgery that results in a quick recovery. The OCC difference includes specialized pencil-thin instruments, bladeless abdominal wall trocars, and localized abdominal wall blocking agents that diminish the cascade of mediators that cause pain and inflammation. We use half the amount of gas pressure, (10 to 12mm/hg vs. 20mm/hg), resulting in fewer dreaded “gas pressure pains” associated with laparoscopic surgery. Our operating time is a fraction of the typical time reported in the literature, because we have streamlined the process. Less time under anesthesia means quicker recovery after your gastric sleeve surgery.

Yes, thankfully! This is what we have named “Sleeve Rescue”. OCC is considered one of the top facilities for gastric sleeve revision and tightening surgery (re-do surgery) and is frequently asked to treat patients that have regained weight or have heartburn symptoms after sleeve surgery. In fact, many of the popular, cheaper centers are a constant flow of patients that have “sloppy sleeves” that fail over time.

Yes, sleeves will stretch over time and they will fail. This is why we created the “Double-Buttress” technique to oversew and reinforce the staple line providing a more durable double-sealed gastric sleeve.

Gastric sleeve, Lap-band or Gastric Plication procedures have the common purpose of a restrictive “pouch”, meaning the stomach´s limited food capacity. Under some situations, the pouch can be stretched to the point where there is less restriction.

ALL ACTIONS COUNT, HERE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT:

• Do not combine solids with liquids. This increases the pouch volume. Drink liquids 5 min before a meal and resume drinking 45 min later.
• Avoid drinking carbonated drinks like sodas, mineral water, champagne, beer. Any “bubbles” will add air, therefore volume to the pouch.
• Do not force liquids. Sipping throughout the day is the best way to stay hydrated. After bariatric surgery, you´ll need to drink 1oz every 15 minutes. After a week you can slowly increase the amount you can drink. Once healed, ½ cup is likely what you´ll be able to tolerate.
• Avoid forcing the feed. At the early stages before bariatric surgery, most patients feel full with 2-3 tablespoons. The pouch will slowly adapt to its final size about 7 months post-surgery, when most patients will be able to eat about ½ cup of food. You should only eat what you can tolerate and stop eating once you feel satisfied, not full. If you feel discomfort, or have P-Bing, you are eating too much.
• Do not use a straw. You´ll pull air in to your pouch. Same thing happens if you chew with your mouth opened (gum, or food).
• Avoid junk food. Some patients eat junk food and then food, doing so easily doubles the portions.

Unfortunately, the latest research has non-conclusive evidence. A gastric sleeve will reduce the size of the organ and also the part that predominantly produces the Ghrelin hormone, also referred to as “the hunger hormone”. When the bariatric surgery is performed, this hormone tends to decrease weeks after the procedure.

Medical studies have also seen this pattern in patients undergoing gastric bypass surgery and gastric plication (the stomach sparing variety of the gastric sleeve). In these cases, no stomach tissue is removed, but the same hormonal effect is observed

All patients are reminded to keep hydrated before and after their bariatric surgery, but it’s important to advise how much and when to intake those liquids.

After bariatric surgery patients will have a very dry mouth. However, it doesn’t mean that they should guzzle water. Instead, we give patients liquids in 2 forms: ice cubes and small (8 oz) water bottles.

The ice cubes are an excellent way to keep patients hydrated and to rationalize the amount of water intake. By giving a patient an ice cube, and just letting it melt in his or her mouth, it’s a very small but very important amount of water that the patient drinks. If a patient intakes too much liquid too fast, their stomach may become inflamed in the first few hours, leading to extreme discomfort and vomiting.

After tolerating ice cubes, patients can move to small water bottles.  We will instruct patients on the amount of water to be taken with each sip of the bottle. By teaching about the correct amount of water intake, we can prevent most problems with inflammation that can lead to a difficult recovery process, more medication, and a prolonged hospital stay.

In a world where the mentality of “more is better”, patients after a gastric sleeve surgery in Mexico benefit from the idea of “slower is faster” as in slower intake equals faster recovery.

Click here to see how OCC compares to other facilities in terms of surgical rates, infection rates, mortality rates, and more.