The fourth-largest American city, Houston, TX is located in Harris County and covers 579.4 square miles. As of July 2009, 2,257,926 lived there. This marks a population increase of 15.6% since 2000. Of those residents, 19.5% lived in poverty. There is a nearly even balance between males and females in the city. 42.7% of the population is Hispanic, with the other majority balancing between White and Black. Just 5.4% are Asian.
The median age of a Houston resident is 30.9 years, slightly younger than that of the state of Texas. The state's largest city, Houston boasts many zip codes including: 77001, 77002, 77003, 77004 and 77005. The median income per household is $44,315 Renters pay a gross average of $775 per month in rent.
Houston, Texas is home to an impressive array of hospitals including the Menninger Clinic and The Institute for Rehabilitation & Research. The city also houses the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex in the world. The facility boasts 13 hospitals, including Texas Children's Hospital and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Known for its innovation in medicine, the city hosts patients from all over the world. Countless disciplines are represented, including ear, nose and throat, neurologists, plastic surgeons and cardiologists.
Also known as vertical sleeve gastrectomy, gastric sleeve resection, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, and tube gastrectomy
Gastric sleeve weight loss surgery is a newer procedure than other weight loss surgery options. The gastric sleeve surgery is a minimally invasive procedure that is performed with a laparoscope and is therefore also known as laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.
In the past, gastric sleeve surgery was generally performed as the first of two weight loss surgery procedures. More recently, gastric sleeve surgery is being performed as a one-step procedure, without a second weight loss surgery.
Gastric sleeve surgery can be performed on patients who are not candidates for more invasive surgical techniques such as gastric bypass.
Gastric sleeve weight loss surgery is performed laparoscopically. The surgeon makes a series of small incisions through with a small camera, or laparoscope, and a series of small surgical instruments are inserted to allow the surgeon to perform the gastric sleeve procedure with this minimally invasive technique.
The surgeon removes 60 -- 80% of the lower stomach, leaving a tube or sleeve shaped stomach that has about 15% of the capacity of the presurgical stomach. The surgery is permanent, with the new stomach sleeve sealed with sutures or staples and the bulk of the stomach removed from the body.
Gastric sleeve surgery takes about two hours, with a required hospital stay of one to two nights. Most patients fully recover from gastric sleeve weight loss surgery in about three weeks. In general in the first year after surgery, patients lose between 30 -- 50 % of their excess body weight.
Gastric sleeve weight loss surgery differs from other weight loss surgeries in several ways, including the following:
- stomach openings remain intact, reducing or eliminating the danger of malaborption and dumping syndrome
- can be performed on patients who are too morbidly obese or sick to undergo other weight loss surgery procedures
- less invasive than gastric bypass surgeries
- intestines are not altered, as in Roux-en-Y, biliopancreatic diversion bypass, and duodenal switch
- no devices remain in the body as in adjustable gastric banding
- most types of food can be eaten after surgery (in small quantities)
- additional weight loss surgery can be performed if required
There are risks associated with any major surgery, and gastric sleeve surgery carries its own possible complications, such as the following:
- sleeve leakage caused by rupture of gastric sutures or staples
- infection caused by sleeve leakage
- formation of blood clots
- stretching of the stomach causing weight gain
- infection at the surgical site
- stomach pain, including nausea and vomiting, caused by overeating
For more information about Houston Weight Loss Surgery Center, or to schedule a consultation, click here and contact us today!
