Can You Convert a Gastric Band to a Gastric Sleeve in Mexico?


Vertical sleeve gastrectomy—also known as “the sleeve”—is not only a great solution for first-time bariatric patients, but it’s also a smart decision for patients who want to convert a Lap-Band® to another type of bariatric tool. In recent years, converting previous bariatric surgeries to new sleeves has become a significant part of my practice. And ...
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Constipation Help After Gastric Sleeve Surgery


What happens in the bathrooms stays in the bathroom…except after gastric sleeve surgery. Because sleeve brothers and sisters talk about everything, am I right? Including, yes, constipation. It might be a touch embarrassing, but it’s very common after the sleeve, so rest assured that you’re in good company. Here are a few things to help ...
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Navigating Social Situations After Gastric Sleeve Surgery


It’s a common refrain from my gastric sleeve patients: “I never realized how much of my social life revolved around food and drinks!” Meeting up for post-work cocktails, grabbing a bite to eat before a movie, digging into big family dinners…it’s tough to think of an instance when eating and drinking isn’t at the heart ...
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Gastric Sleeve Success: Does Meal Prep Matter?


In a word, “yes,” and especially for gastric sleeve patients. Between work, school, family, and everything else on your figurative plate, it’s easy to let nutrition slide on your literal plate. One thing that helps more than anything else I can suggest is meal prepping. Plan, Plan, and Then Plan Some More Sleever April confesses, ...
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What to Expect Before and After Gastric Sleeve Surgery


For most people, making the decision to undergo gastric sleeve surgery is both exciting ad nerve-wracking. Exciting because it’s the first step to a healthier, fitter, more rewarding life. Nerve-wracking because, well, they’ve probably never done anything like it before! The best way to ease any nervousness is to understand what to expect right before ...
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Gastric Sleeve Puzzles: Restaurants and Snacking


Sometimes being a gastric sleeve patient means learning to navigate the world in a whole new way. Snacking and eating in restaurants are everyday things you probably haven’t thought much about in decades, right? Even if you weren’t consuming the “right” foods, you knew what to do. But life with a sleeve means reevaluating how ...
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How to Avoid Cheating on Your Diet


As a bariatric surgeon, I have seen how struggling to maintain your diet is one of the biggest obstacles to losing weight. If you find yourself frequently cheating on your diet — or at least thinking about it — I want to offer you some suggestions that I believe can help you to make healthy ...
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Dumping Syndrome: Why Gastric Sleeve Patients Don’t Need to Worry


If you check out message boards populated by bariatric surgery patients, you will inevitably come across a thread of patients complaining about dumping syndrome. Dumping syndrome describes when a person eats unhealthy foods that pass from the stomach to the bowels super quickly, creating nausea and discomfort shortly after eating. While this condition mainly occurs ...
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