What Is Gastric Plication?

Gastric plication is a type of bariatric surgery that helps people lose weight. It’s a restrictive procedure, which means it shrinks the stomach. This reduces the amount of food you can eat at once and helps you feel fuller sooner. It does not entail gastric banding, stomach stapling, or bypassing the stomach, unlike other bariatric surgeries. To lower the size of the stomach, the surgeon creates large folds.

At VIDA, we have the latest state-of-the-art equipment for this procedure. Laparoscopic gastric plication is a less invasive weight-loss surgery technique that decreases the stomach capacity to about 3 ounces. It’s a restrictive weight-loss operation, which means that the amount of food the stomach can hold is limited. You’ll feel full faster and won’t want to eat as much, which will help you lose weight.

There’s no need for an implanted device in this procedure (such as gastric banding). Because a piece of the stomach is not removed, unlike the gastric sleeve treatment, gastric plication may be reversible because a portion of the stomach is not removed. Furthermore, unlike gastric bypass, gastric plication does not require the intestines to be rerouted and connected.

The techniques used in a gastric plication procedure by our certified medical team, result in a speedier recovery and less scarring than open surgery. Patients can return to work and routine activities in seven to ten days depending on their recovery duration.

Advantages of gastric plication

• There’s no rerouting of the intestines as in gastric bypass surgery.
• It does not entail putting a band around a section of the stomach.
• As with gastric banding, no changes are required.
• Unlike a sleeve gastrectomy or a gastric bypass, this procedure may be reversible.

What’s the purpose of getting a gastric plication?

If you meet the following criteria your doctor may consider gastric plication surgery:

• Your BMI (body mass index) is 30 or more, indicating that you are overweight. This is lower than most bariatric surgeries, which are for individuals with morbid obesity with a BMI of 40 or above. Obesity-related health concerns with a BMI of 35.
• You’ve tried less invasive methods but still haven’t lost enough weight : Diet, exercise, behavioral therapy and medical weight loss with medications are all examples of this.
• You’ve shown that you’re serious about reducing weight, improving your health, and adopting long-term lifestyle changes.
• This includes making long-term changes to your food, exercise routine, and behavior. Accepting a lifelong need to limit food portions and adjust food preferences will also be required.

Obesity-related health problems can be reduced by bariatric surgery and lifestyle adjustments in general.

• Breast, colon, kidney, liver, ovarian, pancreatic, and thyroid cancers are among the most common cancers.
• Gallbladder disease and kidney disease are symptoms of fatty liver disease.
• Heart disease, high blood pressure, excessive cholesterol, and stroke are all risk factors for stroke.
• Osteoarthritis and other types of discomfort.
• Diabetes type 2.

How’s gastric plication performed?

In a hospital, doctors use general anesthesia to execute gastric plication. To put you in a deep sleep, a combination of intravenous (IV) medications and gases is administered. You won’t feel any pain during the process because you’ll be sleeping.

Gastric plication is a minimally invasive laparoscopic procedure. It entails creating 5 to 6 abdominal incisions. To execute the operation, your doctor will put small surgical instruments through the incisions. Your doctor will use these instruments to make large stomach folds and structure them in place. The stomach folds diminish the size of your stomach by roughly 70%, it takes 1 to 2 hours to complete the process.

There will be no stapling or cutting of your stomach. As a result, the technique is reversible and can be converted to another procedure in the future.

What to expect of your gastric plication?

On the day of your procedure, here’s what to expect. This is what happens on the day of your operation in general:

• Your doctor will review your preoperative test and findings, ensure that all essential documentation is completed, and maybe perform a brief physical examination.
• Your medical history will be discussed with our medical team.
• Before they transport you to the operating room, the surgical team will give you a sedative to help you relax.
• After the surgery, you’ll wake up in our recovery area. Where your doctor will indicate if you need to stay or if you can return home.

What should I do to get ready for a gastric plication procedure?

In general, you can prepare for surgery by doing the following:

• Having a good understanding of your health and medical history.
• List all your medications, including prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, herbal supplements, and vitamins, as well as any drug allergies you have.
• As recommended, no eating or drinking before surgery. If you eat or drink too soon before your operation, your doctor may decide to postpone it.
• If you smoke, quit as soon as possible to aid in your recovery after surgery.
• Taking or discontinuing drugs according to the instructions. Your doctor will provide you with detailed advice on how to take your medications and supplements.

What should I expect following a gastric plication procedure?

It’s easier to plan and prepare for a good recovery when you know what to expect. Our patients who have this procedure lose weight in a similar way to those who have a gastric bypass procedure. In the first 6 to 12 months, patients will lose the majority of their excess weight (about 70%). In most people, full weight loss occurs within two years, and in some cases much sooner.

A gastric plication procedure takes a fraction of the time that most other weight-loss procedures do. Unlike lap band surgery, there will be no need to implant a medical device into the body, and no section of your stomach will be removed. Instead, stitches are used to shrink the stomach in a non-invasive procedure. Because the section of the stomach that controls this function will stay intact, your body will be able to absorb nutrients. If a complication occurs, gastric sleeve plication surgery can be reversed, whereas gastric sleeve surgery cannot. When a surgeon performs gastric sleeve surgery, a considerable section of the stomach is removed, and the procedure cannot be reversed.

How long will the recovery period take?

This surgery will make your stomach smaller, but it will still send a message to your brain alerting your body that your stomach is full far sooner than it would without it. The ghrelin-producing section of the stomach will not be eliminated, but because the stomach is considerably smaller, patients will feel full much sooner, allowing for consistent and long-term weight loss.

Here at VIDA Bariatrics, you can get an appointment with our medical team and certified, specialized surgeons, so you can know what’s the best method for your situation. You can learn everything you need to know about what to expect from a gastric plication surgery. Our experts at VIDA Bariatrics can answer all your concerns and assist you in making the best option when it comes to determining which operation will best help you achieve your weight-loss objectives.