Hello - I'm a newbie to this forum and am in the very beginning stages of the pre-op process. The one thing that has me a little unsettled about VSG is that it's so permanent, and not knowing what kind of problems there might be 20 or 30 yrs from now. I just started finding information online about a Gastric Plication surgery that seems like it does basically the same as the Sleeve but where they don't actually remove the stomach. Does anyone know anything about the Plication? I'm starting to wonder if that would be a better choice?

Thanks!

Hi there, you can find out more information at our sister website regarding the sleeve plication. Good luck with your choice, whatever it may be!!

http://www.sleeveplicationtalk.com/

Actually the sleeve has been done for many years for people who have had stomach cancer or other issues. Not totally as a weight loss tool. So in 20-30 years what do you think will happen? You will need to gain back some weight? In what I've seen there haven't been a lot of plication success stories and even it has caused more complications. Research carefully. JMO but no way would i have plication, seems like a gimic to me.

The plication is not as reversible as it's marketed. Several plication patients are looking at revisions to the sleeve. There are a few patients who had severe complications that have shared on obesityhelp and personally, I would never consider the plication.

Partial gastrectomies and complete gastrectomies have been performed since the 1800's for stomach cancer and ulcers. Many people live fully-functioning lives without part or all of their stomachs.

Best wishes in your research.

Most procedures that are marketed as reversable really are not in the long term - body parts that are not used atrophy over time. That part of the stomach that they sew off and is no longer used, may be able to be put back into service for a few months if needed, but over a few years time there will be nothing to reverse. Same applies to the RNY where the remnant stomach is set aside where it can, in principle, be reattached and reused, isn't really in any condition to be used after a couple of years. The bands are heavily marketed as reversible, but more accurately they are removeable, as the damage they can cause is often not reversible.

The best thing that you can do is to choose the procedure that makes the most sense to you, and go with as experienced a surgeon in that procedure as you can reasonably work with. As Tiffy noted, gastrectomies of different kinds have been done for decades for correcting other problems, and the sleeve technique has been done for weight loss purposes for 25 years or so as part of the duodenal switch, and as a stand alone for ten or so years, so there is quite a lot of experience with it