Sleeve Gastrectomy post Gastric Band

Having a Sleeve Gastrectomy after a Gastric Band. This is something we are seeing commonly. Patients have had a gastric band before and it has been removed. They are now battling weight regain and come along to talk about a sleeve gastrectomy. In fact about 20% of our new patients have had a band already by another surgeon. It can be a tricky problem. When bands are placed, the stomach is usually sutured up over the band to stop it moving around.

If the band is removed, it is commonly just cut and pulled out and these stomach sutures are left in. This causes a problem if a sleeve gastrectomy needs to be performed in the future. Basically it is difficult to safely staple through a doubled-over stomach with sutures still in place. If your band has been removed, we often end up performing a Laparoscopy to have a look and (hopefully) remove all these sutures. We generally come back after 3 months to peform a Sleeve Gastrectomy when all the swelling has settled down.

If you are not happy with your Gastric Band and are considering a Sleeve Gastrectomy, we usually try to remove the band and all the sutures in the same procedure, which then sets things up for a sleeve in the future. It is very rare that we will take your band out and proceed to a sleeve in the same sitting.

To make a booking or discuss your surgical options 9386 2624