What is Vertical Sleeve Gastronomy? Is it a Good Idea to get it done Abroad?

Are you struggling with severe obesity? Have regular exercise and diet not worked for you? Do you often worry that medical procedures or surgeries are way too costly in your country? If the answer to those questions is yes, you’re on the right platform.

Obesity is one of the most common health issues in the world. Nearly a third of the global population is overweight and suffering from severe obesity. The condition can be caused by underlying health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid, and hormonal imbalance. Often in such cases, people can’t lose weight without medical attention, and this is where procedures like Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy come to the rescue. Studies show that surgical weight loss has a higher chance of yielding long-lasting effects as compared to dietary weight loss.

Vertical Sleeve Gastronomy

Vertical Sleeve Gastronomy

Source: Pexels

The motive behind vertical sleeve gastrectomy is to help patients lose weight by reducing the size of their stomachs. Usually, this procedure is quite a lengthy one and needs to be performed by a skilled surgeon who has experience in conducting such a surgery. Also, it’s often a costly medical treatment, which is why many patients look to get it done in another country where it’s comparatively cheaper. Poland tops the list in this regard since it offers cost-effective gastrectomy treatments and that too, with top-notch medical facilities by some of the best surgeons in the world.

In this article, we will be introducing you to everything you need to know about Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy in Poland. We will cover all the other important aspects of this medical treatment, like the procedure involved, its benefits, its results, and much more.

What is Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy? Who can undergo this treatment?

Gastric sleeve treatment is one of the most popular and most effective ways of losing weight. It is a type of surgery that’s performed on candidates suffering from severe obesity. In this process, a surgeon removes a part of the patient’s stomach to create a pouch that connects the esophagus directly to the small intestine, resulting in reduced hunger and significant weight loss.

If you’re an adult and planning to undergo this treatment, your BMI should be 35 or more than that to consider undergoing a vertical sleeve gastrectomy. In case your BMI is lower but you have health conditions that are caused by obesity, you are still eligible for this treatment. But if you’re a regular consumer of drugs and alcohol or suffering from psychological problems, this is not the right treatment for you. A person needs to be psychologically ready for major lifestyle changes that he/she will have to adapt to after this surgery. If you’re not ready for such major changes, you should probably drop this idea.

Benefits of Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy

This medical procedure comes with several perks, including:

  • Significant weight loss and better physical movement
  • Almost invisible scars
  • No need of vitamin supplements post surgery
  • Elimination of obesity-related diseases like diabetes, hypertension, thyroid, high blood pressure, etc.

Vertical sleeve gastrectomy is a minimally invasive surgery, so you can rest assured of negligible discomfort.

Before surgery preparation

You probably would have understood this by now, but it’s important to remember that this medical weight loss procedure is followed up by a bunch of dos and don’ts. This means you need to be mentally prepared to undergo it since your life will change a lot. Plus, you should also accept that the surgery isn’t the sole answer to all your medical illnesses. You need to follow it up with a specific lifestyle to keep your body healthy.

Moving on, here are some things you must remember before undergoing Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy in Poland.

  • Two weeks prior to the surgery, you’ll need to start an all-liquid diet to make sure that your liver is shrunk. This is necessary to ensure that the surgery is safer.
  • Before the surgery, you’ll need to take a consultation from your clinic and surgeon. This consultation can likely be accompanied by a number of tests including an abdominal ultrasound, a mammogram, a pulmonary function test, a cortisol test, a chest X-ray, a pap smear, etc.
  • During this consultation, you must tell your doctor about your special health condition (if any).
Medical

Medical

Source: Pexels

Procedure and results of Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy

Gastrectomy takes place with the help of a laparoscopic technique. A surgeon uses a tiny camera (known as a laparoscope) that helps in guiding the entire process. During the surgery, the doctor makes 2-5 small cuts in the abdomen, and through these cuts, he/she inserts the instruments which are used during the surgery.

With regards to the procedure, the surgeon removes a portion of the patient’s stomach and then with the help of surgical staples, he/she creates a long vertical pouch (called a sleeve) out of it that’s about the size of a banana.

The procedure costs about 5000 euros and takes only a few hours (unless there are complications). After the surgery, the patient needs to stay in the hospital for 2 days, under observation, and must stay in Poland for at least for 2 weeks

The outcome of the surgery shows visible results in your stomach size (reduced belly). The patient feels satiated soon and the food portion size he/she can eat at one time decreases. Naturally, this results in faster weight loss. In the first six months, the patient can see the most progress and can expect to lose up to 70% of extra body fat. But again, it is important to understand that this surgery will help only in losing the extra body fat. Whether or not the results last highly depends on the patient’s lifestyle and eating habits.

After surgery considerations

Post-surgery, you will have a lessened desire to consume food since the hunger hormone ‘’ghrelin’’ will be almost non-existent. After undergoing vertical sleeve gastrectomy, you must stick to liquid or semi-liquid foods and keep yourself well-nourished and hydrated (minimum 2 liters of water per day). You must eliminate coffee, carbonated, and sugary drinks from your diet and indulge in light exercises like walking, meditation, and yoga. Intense exercises can be included after a month of the surgery.

It’s recommended that you follow all the important instructions provided by your doctor and take good care of your eating habits.

Why is Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy in Poland so effective?

In the recent years, medical tourism has gained a genuine amount of popularity, as people from well-developed countries (like the US and UK) travel to countries like Poland to get high-class, supreme quality treatments at an affordable price. The medical clinics in Poland are assisted by European standards, meaning that surgeons are obligated to provide world-class facilities to foreign patients.

Moreover, the prices of procedures like vertical sleeve gastrectomy in Poland are much lower as compared to countries like the US, UK, and Canada. But that doesn’t mean that surgeons are less professional in Poland or use laid-back equipment. In fact, doctors in Poland are well studied and practiced. They use the latest equipment accompanied with the most advanced technologies. The reasons why there’s a difference in the cost of treatment in Poland are the overall low-cost quality of life here, and of course, the location of the clinic where the surgery is performed also matters.

Poland

Poland

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To Conclude

Poland has become an extremely popular destination when it comes to getting treated for medical issues like obesity and poor dental health. The country’s medical community makes sure that local as well as foreign patients get access to high-quality services at an affordable price. In fact, some clinics also offer full packages that include dietitian support, psychologist consultation, and additional tests. Needless to say, all of this results in quite a smooth process along with increased patient trust.

So if you’re planning on getting a surgery done abroad, don’t hesitate in finding out if it’s done in Poland. We’re sure you won’t regret it!