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

This procedure works by several mechanisms. First, the stomach pouch holds a considerably smaller volume than the normal stomach by significantly reducing the amount of food (and thus calories) an individual can consume. The greater impact, however, seems to be the effect the surgery has on gut hormones that impact a number of factors including hunger, satiety, and blood sugar control.

Short-term studies show that the sleeve is as effective as the roux-en-Y gastric bypass in terms of weight loss and improvement or remission of diabetes. There is also evidence that suggests the sleeve, similar to the gastric bypass, is effective in improving Type 2 Diabetes independent of the weight loss. The complication rates of the sleeve fall between those of the adjustable gastric band and the roux-en-Y gastric bypass.