5 Things You Should Know About Gastric Sleeve Surgery

No matter how hard you work at the gym or how much you adjust your eating habits, the scale barely budges. You’ve worked hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle, yet you cannot seem to drop the pounds. If this sounds like you, you may be a candidate for gastric sleeve surgery in Houston or Katy, Texas.

Texas Endosurgery is the best option to help you meet your weight loss goals. Before you make this life-changing decision, there are some things you should know:

How It Works

Gastric sleeve surgery, or sleeve gastrectomy, is a minimally invasive surgical option that removes a portion of the stomach. The procedure reduces stomach size and helps you feel fuller with smaller portion sizes. In addition, there is a hormonal component involved, which consists of removing the portion of the stomach that produces ghrelin, therefore reducing the hormones production and helping the patient feel less hunger. All of these moving parts come together to help you achieve weight loss success.

Insurance May Cover Gastric Sleeve Surgery

Some Insurance carriers cover the cost of gastric sleeve surgery if you meet certain pre-specified criteria, which vary by company. Most insurance companies and employers that offer gastric sleeve surgery insurance coverage require a body mass index (BMI) equal to or greater than 40 for gastric sleeve surgery, or a BMI of 35 if there are significant medical problems associated with your weight, like Type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea and heart disease. A BMI of 40 or above is the equivalent of being about 100 pounds overweight for men and 80 pounds overweight for women.

Downtime is Minimal

Dr. Bonnor employs the latest cutting edge technique facilitating little downtime in the recovery process. In order to ensure a smooth recovery process, it is essential for you to follow the guidelines from your Houston weight loss surgeon, Dr. Bonnor, sets forth including dietary restrictions, as well as refraining from smoking cigarettes or consuming alcohol. Our patients typically experience a smooth recovery process, leaving the hospital the next day following their gastric sleeve surgery. In addition, you can typically return to work in five to 7 days, depending on what you do. You should be able to resume your workout routine after approximately three weeks.

Long-term Solution, Lifelong Changes

While gastric sleeve surgery is often an optimal option for weight loss, there are lifelong changes you must be ready to commit to after the surgery. Your lifestyle must change significantly to ensure great success. For example, alcohol consumption is not recommended after your surgery, as it provides little nutritional benefits. In addition, your absorption of alcohol will change due to the reduction of an enzyme which typically begins to digest alcohol. Your diet must also be closely monitored, and it is essential to success that you stay within the bounds of the diet Dr. Bonnor recommends. Overall, these new lifestyle changes will significantly benefit your long-term health in your weight loss surgery journey.

The Doctor: Your Choice Matters

it’s important to choose someone who is on the cusp of medicinal innovation, but who also has an extensive track record of success. After making the decision to have weight loss surgery in the Houston area, choosing the right bariatric surgeon is an important factor in weight loss success. In your search, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by your choices, but with Texas Endosurgery, you can rest-assured that you’ve chosen a well qualified weight loss surgeon in the Houston area. Dr. Ricardo Bonnor M.D., FACS, FASMBS graduated from the prestigious Medical School at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, graduating with highest honors–in the top 2 percent of the medical graduating class. He completed his surgical residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and His fellowship in Advanced Gastrointestinal Laparoscopy and Bariatric Surgery at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.

At Texas Endosurgery, we specialize in personalized consultations and care, and we place the utmost priority on the safety of our patients. The personalized experience you will have at our offices, combined with a dedicated weight loss surgeons in the Houston area, make our practice an outstanding choice to meet your weight loss surgery goals. Contact us today to schedule your appointment at one of our two office locations serving the Houston, Katy, Sugar Land, The Woodlands, Pearland and Cypress areas.

  • Share: