With all the weight-loss surgery options available today, a person may wonder if they will work. And let’s say weight-loss surgery does work, will this surgery work for you? Many people often wonder how many pounds they can expect to lose after having weight loss surgery and how long will they be able to keep the weight off. Well, that’s when research comes in to help us better understand what has worked for others who have tried it before us and what happened to them. Let’s dive into first understanding the popular gastric sleeve surgery and how successful it has been proven to be.

Gastric Sleeve Surgery

Gastric sleeve surgery promotes healthy weight loss by shrinking your stomach to a smaller size. After your stomach has shrunk so much, this changes your body’s hunger hormones to help your body naturally continue to lose more weight over time.

The Risks of Gastric Sleeve Surgery

The risks of gastric sleeve surgery are very small, but important to understand. Much like most types of surgery, patients have to acknowledge there’s always a risk of death or “dying on the table” or “bleeding out”.

  • Gastric sleeve surgery uses a tiny camera and cuts only a small hole. This reduces risks.
  • There is also the risk of patients not getting successful weight-loss results or maintaining good weight loss results after surgery. But, these risks are mainly due to patients not following instructions after surgery.

A study published in 2020 reported the death rate was 5.6% within one month of having gastric sleeve surgery and only 0.11% after one month of surgery.

Gastric Sleeve Surgery Benefits

Gastric sleeve surgery benefits are numerous. Patients are pleased with their improved appearance. Here are some recent photos of real patients before and after having gastric sleeve surgery. People also say their mental health improves a lot after this kind of surgery.

  • Weight-loss surgery helps conditions linked to negative thoughts surrounding a person’s weight, like depression or anxiety.
  • Gastric sleeve surgery also helps cure other health conditions you may have had before surgery, like heart problems, diabetes, and more.

Gastric sleeve surgery benefits a patient’s social life and love life. With a healthier body, people tend to feel more confident and love themselves more as a person.

  • Maybe a person used to have to stay at home and limit physical activities due to their weight and health.
  • After surgery, they may start wanting to go out and exercise, building new hobbies.

Gastric Sleeve Success Results

Gastric sleeve success results are very good! Men and women have reported they achieved a successful body transformation. Take a look at some real patient testimonials. The average expected results for both men and women after having gastric sleeve surgery found:

  • At 6 months after gastric sleeve surgery, people can expect to lose around 50% of their excess body weight.
  • One year after gastric sleeve surgery, patients can expect to lose about 70% of their excess weight!

Gastric sleeve results can be maintained by exercise and a healthy diet after surgery. After gastric sleeve surgery, weight loss happens fast!

  • Right after gastric sleeve surgery for the first month, a patient can lose up to 12 pounds (three pounds/week).
  • One month after gastric sleeve surgery and on, patients can expect to lose about 2 pounds each week.
  • Within the first year of having gastric sleeve surgery, patients can expect to lose about 70 to 80 pounds!
  • After 5 years, patients say they can keep off at least 75% of their previous extra weight.

Final thoughts

Final thoughts on gastric sleeve results can be endless, but ultimately comes down to what is best for you. If you are overweight or extremely overweight, gastric sleeve surgery may be a good option for you. It all starts by talking to your doctor to ask what options might be best for you.