SINGLE-INCISION GASTRIC SLEEVE IN MEXICO
SILS (Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery) Gastric Sleeve is a standard gastric sleeve surgery with only one difference – the number of abdominal incisions. Standard laparoscopic gastric sleeve surgery requires at least 3 main incisions above the belly button (or sometimes 4 if the liver is large) and one tiny additional incision for the drain tube located on the far-left side of the abdomen (each main incision is about 1/4 – 1/3 of an inch in length, and the drain tube incision is only 4-5 mm long). Whereas in the single-incision gastric sleeve only one incision is made through the belly button. There is a possibility that an additional tiny incision on the far-left side of the abdomen may still be required if drainage needs to be placed (rarely).
ADVANTAGE
The main reason why some patients choose the single-incision gastric sleeve is of course for aesthetic reasons, to avoid having multiple abdominal scars.
The belly button scar is hidden in the belly button. This option is especially recommended for patients who suffer from keloid scarring.
Do I qualify for a single-incision sleeve?
Requirements
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- A single-incision surgery is available for gastric sleeve only, it is not available for bypass or revision surgeries.
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- BMI (body mass index) under 35.
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- The patient must follow the protein pre-op diet very strictly to ensure that the liver shrinks in size (large liver will require additional incisions to insert a liver separator instrument and hold the liver up throughout surgery to allow the surgeon access to the stomach).
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- No prior abdominal surgeries such as tummy tuck (the scar tissue after previous abdominal surgeries will not allow the surgeon to inflate the stomach sufficiently to perform the surgery through only one incision)
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- A single incision sleeve is not an option for patients who require hiatal hernia repair or gallbladder removal.
DISADVANTAGES
- Extra cost. A single-incision sleeve surgery is much more demanding for the surgeon, requires special skills and experience, thus an extra cost of $500 USD applies.
- Possibly extra pain. Since naturally we have a lot of nerve endings concentrated around the belly button, it makes the incision more sensitive and painful. Also, the fact that all the surgical instruments including the camera need to be inserted and removed several times through only one incision, makes it more traumatized during surgery, and increases pain levels during recovery. Belly button incision may hurt for up to 1 – 1.5 months.
Is single incision surgery always possible if I comply with all the requirements?
Even if a patient complies with all the requirements listed above, there is no guarantee that the gastric sleeve will be possible through only one incision. Based on our experience, even patients with BMI as low as 29 sometimes have very large liver which doesn`t allow the surgeon access to the stomach through one incision.
Thus, when Dr. Cynthia Hernandez or Dr. Francisco Zavalza begin the single-incision sleeve surgery, the first incision is made through the belly button, a camera is inserted to evaluate the patient`s liver size and the possibility of working through only one incision. If the surgeons determine that the patient`s liver is too large or the patient has a hiatal hernia that needs to be repaired, additional incisions will be made, and a standard gastric sleeve will be performed. Or else, the doctors will try to make only 2 additional incisions and perform a so-called 3-incisional gastric sleeve, where the main incision is still hidden in the belly button and two tiny additional ones are located above the belly button to the right and to the left side. In such cases the single incision fee will be refunded to the patient during hospital discharge.
Weight loss expectations
SILS Gastric Sleeve provides the same weight loss results as a standard laparoscopic multiple-incision gastric sleeve since the anatomy of the procedure performed on the stomach itself doesn`t change. The same post-op diet is to be followed. To learn more about the benefits and risks of gastric sleeve surgery, please visit Gastric Sleeve (VSG).
HEALTH HISTORY QUESTIONNAIRE
To determine what type of weight loss surgery will be most beneficial for you, please complete our health history questionnaire.
Once we receive the completed form, we will contact you via email within 24 hours and arrange a free consultation with one of our bariatric surgeons via a cell phone or a video call.