I am in the fence between the sleeve and bypass. My doctor suggested the bypass but I am leaning towards the sleeve since it is less invasive. Any thoughts?

How is it less invasive? With bypass things are rerouted. Nothing is removed. With sleeve 80% of the stomach is removed.

i had a hard time deciding too back in 2017. I went with the sleeve but almost changed my mind to bypass right up until surgery day.

Mid 2019 I got pretty severe gerd and hiatal hernia. Had to revise to bypass. My only regret is that I did not choose the bypass and ended up having to do the surgery twice.

you are the only one that can decide what is right for you. Do your research and make the best decision for you.

Good luck!

Edited January 10, 20206 yr by Losingit2018

Well depends on how much you need to lose.

But from my experience I've been a quick loser with bypass and had zero issues since surgery over 2 months ago... Hardly feel hungry..

Within a week of surgery the Dr took me off multiple medications for diabetes and blood pressure..

All I need to take is multivitamins each day plus calcium and b12 no issues at all with that and the money I was spending on meds now goes to vitamins...

Yes if you have any kind of reflux issues sleeve will more than likely make it worse.

I've even seen ppl end up with reflux and gerd just from the sleeve...without any history of it..

Yes it is up to you though.

That was me. I had zero reflux before my sleeve plus I am confident that the sleeve caused my hernia.

I have seen plenty of people that are very successful with the sleeve and have had no issues. Hard decision for sure.

6 hours ago, twins08 said:

I am in the fence between the sleeve and bypass. My doctor suggested the bypass but I am leaning towards the sleeve since it is less invasive. Any thoughts?

If done laproscopically, same amount of invasiveness (perhaps you mean a less complicated type of surgery?)

Trust the skill and advice of your Surgeon. Ask exactly why they prefer the bypass over the sleeve for you.

In the end, at least you are well informed when you make the decision you want.

Good Luck. ?

Edited January 10, 20206 yr by GreenTealael

I was leaning toward the bypass, but my other health care providers were pushing me toward a sleeve as "less invasive" which didn't make sense to me because they're cutting out half of my stomach! So I ended up choosing the sleeve.

Well, maybe a minor lesson in the difference between the procedures.

Sleeve gastrectomy (aka gastric sleeve): inherently a restriction WLS. They remove 80% of your stomach and shape your stomach into a sort of "banana-shape" to reduce the AMOUNT you can eat. Period. You get whatever nutritional value from what you eat, good or bad.

RNY-gastric bypass: Is a combination restriction and malabsorption WLS. The surgeon divides your stomach and forms a small pouch. That pouch is then re-routed to bypass the remainder of your stomach and the first part of your intestine. The first part of your intestine is responsible for absorbing nutrients and calories. Therefore, not only can't you eat as much but not all of what you eat is getting absorbed.

There are lots of other procedures: duodenal switch and mini-gastric bypass to name a few. They are all "invasive" in that a doctor has to enter your abdominal cavity and make changes to your anatomy. I'm not sure you could say that sleeve is any more or less invasive than bypass.

Definitely discuss it with your doctor. Ask his advice and don't simply rely on the fact that he does more/less of a certain procedure. Do your research. Ask Questions.

There are many factors to consider when you're deciding between the 2: past medical history, the amount of weight you need to lose, etc. For me, the deciding factor was that I absolutely did not want the malabsorptive aspect of RNY and was willing to risk the possibility of reflux. Which I did get, by the way, although it's rather minor and currently well-controlled.

they're both pretty invasive - just in different ways. Cutting out 80% of your stomach and throwing it in the trash is pretty darn invasive...

there are sometimes medical issues that would make one surgery or the other more appropriate. I had GERD pre-surgery, so it was a no-brainer for me - bypass. Sleeve can often (but not always) make that worse. Bypass can often (but not always) improve (if not outright cure) it.

if you have no medical issues, then either is a good option. There are plenty of examples of people successful with either surgery.