Weight gain after Sleeve operation

Question
Hi, I am a 24 year old female and I weigh 156kg.
Within about 3 months I will be have WLS and I will getting the sleeve. I am very much looking forward to it and can not wait to shift some of this weight.
I was just googling 'the sleeve' and one website mentions that a weight gain of 20-40% is normal after 10-15 years.
Obviously quite shocked I was wondering if you could tell me more?

Thank you!
Charlie

Answer
Hi Charlie:

Well, first off, the sleeve hasn't really been around that long (in terms of peer-reviewed studied) to show such a figure.  We see some 5 year studies, and they are showing minimal weight gain.  The Magenstrasse & Mill operation, which is the basis for the Sleeve, showed people lost about 60% of their excess weight and kept it off for 5 years.  Having said that, however, all bariatric operations show some regain--and I would believe the 20-40% figure.  The best operation in terms of minimizing weight gain, and maximizing weight loss, is the Duodenal Switch--which is basically a Sleeve with bypassing of a good majority of the small intestine.  It is appropriate for somebody your size--and has been shown to be the most effective for people with a BMI over 50.  Some surgeons do a two-part DS, doing the Sleeve first, and then 6 months to one year later doing the intestinal portion of the DS.  Other people tend to go for a sleeve and then a Roux-en-Y, but as the RNY has a high failure rate, I'm not sure why they do this other than the fact that very few surgeons perform the DS.

Having said all that, please understand that *no* surgery offers a guaranteed 100% weight loss or percentage.  The Sleeve's results are, on average, around 55-60% of Excess Weight Loss.  So, if you are 100 kg overweight, you can expect to lose around 55-60 kg.  Will that make you skinny? Nope.  But it will make you much healthier and as of know is the best thing we have out there.  No drug or diet even comes close.  You'll meet people on many Sleeve boards who have lost 100%, but they tend to be the exception, not the rule.  The lower one's BMI, the greater the likelihood of a weight loss percentage near 100%.  For the average person, we're still looking at 55-60%.

The Duodenal Switch offers an excess weight loss in the range of 70-80%.  There have been studies showing this maintained for 20 years.  Quality of life tends to be good, although you need to be even more vigilant with dietary supplements than with the sleeve. (You still need to be vigilant with the sleeve.)  

I suggest that you look into the Duodenal Switch support board on Obesity Help and also look into the website dsfacts.com

I hope this helps.  Sorry for the delay in replying, I'm home with the flu.

Karla

I still believe that you could be quite happy with your Sleeve, but if you're looking for better weight loss with a longer track record of maintenance, then the DS is probably for you.  

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