Our surgeons’ ranking is measured using different criteria, including:
- Skills and hands-on experience, evaluated based on the years of experience as a surgeon, the number of successful surgeries, the percentage of patient satisfaction.
- Academic background, evaluated based on the education level (considering their specialties and subspecialties), ranking in the board certification examination, the place of study (institution ranking), and the number of congresses, workshops, and courses attended.
The higher-ranked surgeons are the Iranian brand doctors who are also active on social media.
* Note that all our doctors are board-certified and have met Lotus Travel medical group’s standards.
There are two types of gastric sleeve surgery in Iran. The first type involves removing 60 percent of the stomach and is commonly known as ‘wide sleeve’ in Iran, and in the second type 80 percent of the stomach is removed, which is called ‘tight sleeve’.
Gastric sleeve surgery is performed using the minimally-invasive laparoscopic technique. It is available at modern hospitals in Tehran, Mashhad, Shiraz, Isfahan, Kish, Tabriz, and some other cities.
WHY IRAN FOR GASTRIC SLEEVE SURGERY?
Iran is increasingly becoming a popular destination for weight loss surgery candidates from all across the world. A number of factors contribute to the popularity of Iran for weight loss surgery, especially gastric sleeve surgery, the most important of which are proficient doctors, affordable costs, and first-class medical facilities.
Competent bariatric surgeons in Iran
Highly trained and experienced, Iranian bariatric surgeons are particularly very skillful in sleeve gastrectomy. Having studied medicine and surgery at prestigious universities, they have pursued advanced courses and fellowships in general surgery, laparoscopic surgery and bariatric surgery in Iran and/or developed countries, including the United States and England.
Affordable gastric sleeve cost in Iran
While the quality and efficacy of gastric sleeve surgeries done in Iran as well as the patient satisfaction rate are very high, the cost of a gastric sleeve in Iran is among the lowest in the world.
A quick Google search of ‘gastric sleeve cost in X’ (where X is the name of a country), will show you that by having a gastric sleeve surgery done in Iran, you can save up to 80% of your budget.
The average cost of a gastric sleeve surgery in Iran is currently around $3800. Lotus Travel offers gastric sleeve surgery packages with the best bariatric surgeons in Tehran, Mashhad, and Shiraz.
Modern hospitals offering bariatric surgery
Well-equipped hospitals in Iran enjoy specialized bariatric surgery clinics offering all types of laparoscopic weight loss surgeries. Iranian hospitals with medical tourism licenses are staffed with highly qualified and experienced doctors and nurses.
With state-of-the-art medical equipment as well as VIP services, Iranian hospitals are well-prepared to offer world-class services to international patients suffering from obesity.
WHY CHOOSE Lotus Travel FOR GASTRIC SLEEVE SURGERY?
Lotus Travel is a reputable medical tourism facilitator that helps foreign patients have a smooth and hassle-free medical trip to Iran. With its cadre of professional medical consultants, patient coordinators, and interpreters, Lotus Travel does all the arrangements for you from helping you choose the best bariatric surgeon and hospital in Iran, get a visa for Iran , book flight and accommodations, to picking you up from airport, transferring you to your hotel and hospital, assigning a personal interpreter to you to help you communicate with your doctor, and providing post-operative care and consultation.
Weight loss surgeries offered by Lotus Travel are all performed by the most experienced and reputable bariatric surgeons in Iran who are all board-certified and have passed advanced fellowships in bariatric and laparoscopic surgery.
The hospitals Lotus Travel’s patients are treated at are among the most highly rated in Iran. They enjoy International Patients Departments (IPDs) which offer VIP services to foreign patients and their companions.
ON GASTRIC SLEEVE: WHAT IS IT AND HOW IT HELPS WITH WEIGHT LOSS?
Gastric sleeve, also known as (vertical) sleeve gastrectomy or simply sleeve surgery, is a restrictive bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery), which means that it makes the stomach hold less food by reducing its size.
In gastric sleeve, some 60% to 80% of the stomach is removed permanently, leaving the patient with a small tube-like stomach about the size of a banana that can receive a much smaller amount of food than it could before the surgery, dramatically decreasing the appetite of the patient and thus encouraging a weight loss.
After a gastric sleeve surgery, 60 to 80 percent of the patient’s excess weight is lost (50 percent within the first 6 months after the surgery and up to 80 percent after 2 years). Sleeve gastrectomy is a minimally-invasive surgery performed under general anesthesia using laparoscopy.
AM I A CANDIDATE FOR GASTRIC SLEEVE?
A gastric sleeve is suitable for people with a BMI above 35. People with a BMI between 32 and 35 can also have the eligibility for gastric sleeve if they have severe comorbidities such as high blood pressure, diabetes and sleep apnea. That said, the best candidates for gastric sleeve are those with a BMI over 40.
Before deciding to have a gastric sleeve surgery, make sure to consult with a physician and discuss your overall health condition. Lotus Travel’s medical consultants help you choose the best type of weight loss surgery by analyzing your medical documents and photos. Also, see ‘ which weight loss surgery is right for me? ’.
HOW IS A SLEEVE GASTRECTOMY PERFORMED?
Our weight loss surgeons do two types of gastric sleeve surgeries:
- Mini sleeve (knowns as ‘wide sleeve’in Iran): 60% of the stomach is removed and it is suitable for people with a BMI between 32 and 35.
- Normal sleeve (known as ‘tight sleeve’in Iran): 80% of the stomach is removed and it is suitable for people with a BMI between 35 and 50.
Our professional teams of bariatric surgery perform the gastric sleeve surgery using the minimally-invasive laparoscopic method, under general anesthesia. The operation takes about 2 hours and it is performed in hospitals authorized by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The patient typically needs to stay in the hospital for one night or two, during which he/she is carefully taken care of by the supportive nursing staff of the hospital. Our hospitals provide VIP services to international patients and their companions coming from abroad, including convenient accommodations in the hospital.
GASTRIC SLEEVE RISKS AND COMPLICATIONS
Gastric sleeve is one of the safest surgeries. However, no surgery is 100 percent risk-free. Minor side effects such as pain, bruising, swelling, and bleeding, might occur immediately after gastric sleeve, but they will normally disappear within a few days after surgery.
In less than 1% of cases, internal bleeding, gastric leak, gastritis (inflammation in the lining of the stomach), bloating in the abdominal area, infection, pneumonia, and nausea and/or vomiting might occur.
That said, our bariatric surgeons give patients proper instructions and dietary guidelines for post-op gastric sleeve in order to lessen the chances of developing post-op complications.
ADVANTAGES OF GASTRIC SLEEVE
Gastric sleeve surgery is a very effective weight loss treatment that yields a highly satisfactory result. Studies have found that gastric sleeve surgery is also very effective in combating chronic diseases associated with obesity, such as diabetes and hypertension. A study of outcomes of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy as a primary procedure for morbid obesity during a course of five years has shown that diabetes remitted in 75% of the patients and arterial hypertension improved in 71.7%.
Other advantages of gastric sleeve surgery are as follows:
- Apart from reducing the size of the stomach, a gastric sleeve also makes hormonal changes that will lead to decreased appetite.
- Unlike the gastric bypass, a gastric sleeve does not alter the normal function of the stomach, i.e. the anatomy of the digestive system will be preserved.
- Unlike malabsorptive bariatric surgeries such as gastric bypass that reduce the absorption of nutrients by bypassing a portion of the intestine, the gastric sleeve does not impact the absorption of nutrients.
- Unlike the gastric banding and gastric balloon, no external device is inserted into the body.
- The surgery is performed using laparoscopy, thus it will be a painless operation.
- A gastric sleeve surgery takes a short time (about 2 hours)
- The recovery is very quick and the patient will typically be up and around on the day of surgery. Most patients are able to walk the day after surgery.
- Since the appetite will shrink to a great degree, the process of weight loss will not be a daunting challenge. (However, people should avoid high-calorie foods after the surgery and follow a healthy diet so that not to regain weight.)
- A future endoscopic check-up will be possible for the stomach and intestines.
GASTRIC SLEEVE VS. GASTRIC BYPASS
After deciding to have bariatric surgery, you may remain uncertain as to which type of surgery to go for, especially between the two more popular ones, i.e. gastric sleeve and gastric bypass.
Each type of weight loss surgery has its own advantages and disadvantages. Considering all the benefits and drawback of gastric sleeve and gastric bypass surgery, you will be able to opt for one of them.
But this is not the whole story. You should consult with your surgeon and discuss your health issues and your desired results in order to make a more informed decision. Our medical consultants at Lotus Travel are always ready to give you a free consultation with regards to this issue.
Similarities between gastric sleeve and gastric bypass
Gastric bypass and sleeve are similar in a number of aspects, which are as follows:
- In both procedures, the patient should stay in the hospital for 2-3 days after surgery.
- They are both not reversible.
- Both methods work by curbing your appetite, though in different ways.
- The recovery time for both procedures is 2-4 weeks.
- Both are very effective weight loss methods.
Differences between gastric sleeve and gastric bypass
Gastric sleeve and gastric bypass are different in several ways.
- The procedures are completely different (read about gastric bypass surgery ).
- Gastric sleeve is usually recommended for patients with a BMI over 35 but gastric bypass usually is recommended for very obese patients with a BMI of over 45.
- Gastric sleeve does not change the normal function of the digestive system, but gastric bypass does.
- Gastric bypass is a malabsorptive bariatric surgery, which means it reduces the absorption of nutrients by bypassing a portion of the intestine, while sleeve gastrectomy does not affect the absorption of nutrients.