Gastric Sleeve in Turkey

The operation is done through four or five keyhole incisions under general anaesthetic and takes one to two hours. The surgeon divides the stomach vertically with a stapling device and removes the larger, curved portion entirely. Nothing is rerouted and no implant is left behind — the digestive tract works in the same order as before, just with a much smaller reservoir.

Two things drive the weight loss. The obvious one is volume: the new stomach holds roughly 100–150 ml, so you feel full after a few mouthfuls. The less obvious and arguably more important one is hormonal. The removed section, the fundus, produces most of your ghrelin, so appetite itself drops rather than simply being overruled.

How it compares with the alternatives

The sleeve has become the most performed bariatric operation in the world because it balances strong, durable weight loss against a lower complication rate than a bypass, and because it leaves the small intestine untouched — so vitamin absorption is much less affected. If you are weighing it against a bypass, our guide to gastric sleeve versus gastric bypass sets out the trade-offs in detail.

What it does for health, not just weight

• Type 2 diabetes: improves in most patients and goes into remission in a substantial proportion, often within weeks and before much weight is lost.
• High blood pressure: improves or resolves in roughly half of patients.
• Sleep apnoea: frequently resolves as weight comes off.
• Joint pain and mobility: usually improve markedly.
• Fertility: often improves in women with PCOS — which is why contraception matters for the first 18 months.

What the package includes

• Bariatric surgeon and anaesthetist fees
• Three nights in a JCI-accredited private hospital
• All pre-operative blood tests, endoscopy and scans
• Leak test performed during the operation
• Four nights in a four-star hotel with breakfast
• All airport, hotel and hospital transfers
• A personal English-speaking coordinator
• Dietitian consultations before and after surgery
• Twelve months of structured dietitian follow-up
• Vitamin and supplement starter pack

What is not included

Flights are excluded so you can choose your own route and fare. Also excluded: travel insurance that covers bariatric surgery abroad, meals beyond hotel breakfast, your ongoing vitamin supply after the starter pack, and any treatment for a pre-existing condition found during your work-up. There are no consultation fees at any stage.

A gastric sleeve is usually suitable if

• Your BMI is 40 or more, or 35 or more with an obesity-related health condition.
• You have tried to lose weight through diet, exercise or medication without lasting success.
• You are between 18 and 65. Outside that range it is still possible but needs closer assessment.
• You are prepared to take vitamin supplements and attend follow-up for life.
• You can commit to the staged diet: liquids, then purée, then soft food, over about six weeks.
• You understand this is a permanent change to your anatomy that cannot be reversed.

You may need to wait, or consider something else

• Your BMI is under 32 and you have no weight-related condition: a gastric balloon or medical treatment may suit you better.
• You have severe, untreated acid reflux or a large hiatus hernia. A sleeve commonly worsens reflux — a bypass is usually preferred.
• You have an untreated eating disorder or an unmanaged mental health condition.
• You have an active alcohol or substance dependency.
• You are pregnant, or planning a pregnancy within the next 18 months.

Our BMI and eligibility calculator tells you in a minute where you sit against the standard criteria, and a bariatric surgeon reviews your details free of charge before you commit to anything.

1. Anaesthetic: a consultant anaesthetist puts you to sleep. A breathing tube is placed and you are monitored throughout.
2. Access: four or five incisions of 5–12 mm are made across the upper abdomen. Carbon dioxide gas is used to lift the abdominal wall and create working space.
3. Freeing the stomach: the surgeon separates the greater curvature of the stomach from its blood supply and surrounding attachments.
4. Sizing: a calibration tube, usually 36–40 French, is passed into the stomach. The new sleeve is shaped around it so the diameter is consistent and reproducible rather than guessed.
5. Stapling: a surgical stapler divides the stomach vertically from near the pylorus up to the angle of His, firing several rows of staples that seal as they cut.
6. Reinforcing and testing: the staple line is checked and often oversewn or reinforced. A leak test — with methylene blue dye or air under saline — confirms the seal before closing.
7. Removing the stomach: the excised portion, about 80% of the original volume, is taken out through one of the incisions. It is not reversible.
8. Closing: the incisions are closed with dissolving sutures. A drain is sometimes left for 24–48 hours.

The physical recovery

• Days 1–3: discomfort at the incision sites and shoulder-tip pain from the gas, which is normal and passes. You walk from the first evening.
• Week 1: tiredness is the dominant feeling. You are on clear liquids only, taking small sips constantly to stay hydrated.
• Weeks 2–3: energy returns and most patients are back at a desk job. No lifting over 5 kg.
• Weeks 4–6: light exercise such as walking and swimming once the wounds are fully healed. Still no heavy lifting or core work.
• Week 6 onwards: full activity, including the gym, with your surgeon's approval.

The diet stages

• Stage 1 — clear liquids, weeks 1–2: water, broth, diluted juice. The goal is hydration, not nutrition.
• Stage 2 — full liquids and purée, weeks 2–4: soups, yoghurt, protein shakes. Protein becomes the priority and stays there.
• Stage 3 — soft food, weeks 4–6: scrambled egg, flaked fish, soft vegetables. Chew far more than feels necessary.
• Stage 4 — normal texture, week 6 onwards: regular food in portions of roughly 100–150 ml. Protein first, every meal, for life.

Valentmedica works only with JCI-accredited private hospitals in Istanbul that run a dedicated bariatric programme, with intensive care on site, and with surgeons registered with the Turkish Ministry of Health who perform this operation routinely. You are given your surgeon's name and registration number before you pay anything.

Risks you should know about

• Staple line leak: the most serious complication, affecting around 1–2%. Usually appears between days 3 and 7 and may need further surgery.
• Bleeding: uncommon, occasionally requiring a transfusion or a return to theatre.
• Blood clots: the reason for injections, stockings and early walking.
• Acid reflux: new or worsened reflux affects a significant minority, and in some cases later needs conversion to a bypass.
• Stricture: narrowing of the sleeve, causing vomiting; usually treated endoscopically.
• Nutritional deficiency: B12, iron, vitamin D and folate. Lifelong supplements and annual blood tests are required.
• Gallstones: more likely with rapid weight loss; some patients later need their gallbladder removed.
• Loose skin: common after substantial loss, and often the reason patients later consider body-contouring surgery.

Tell your GP you are having this surgery abroad, before you travel. A discharge summary and a GP who knows what was done makes any aftercare at home vastly easier — Valentmedica provides the paperwork in English.

Your surgeon will only add a second procedure where it is clinically justified, because extending the operating time in bariatric surgery raises the risk of clots and wound problems in patients who are already at higher risk.

Sometimes done at the same time

• Hiatus hernia repair: common, and recommended where a hernia is found, because leaving it untreated makes post-sleeve reflux considerably worse.
• Gallbladder removal: if you already have symptomatic gallstones. Many surgeons prefer to wait and see, since not everyone develops problems.

Planned for later, usually 12–18 months on

• Tummy tuck: the most common follow-up, once your weight has been stable for at least six months.
• Body lift after weight loss: for patients with loose skin across the abdomen, back and thighs.
• Arm lift and thigh lift: frequently wanted after large weight loss.
• Breast lift: breast volume and position change substantially after significant weight loss.

Do not book body contouring at the same time as your sleeve. Operating before your weight has stabilised produces a result that will not hold, and combining major abdominal surgery with major skin surgery is not safe.

• Liver-shrinking diet: two weeks of a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet before surgery. This genuinely matters — a smaller liver makes keyhole access safer, and surgeons do cancel operations when it has been skipped.
• Medication: tell your surgeon everything you take. Blood thinners, anti-inflammatories and diabetes medication all need a plan, and insulin doses usually change rapidly after surgery.
• Smoking: stop at least four weeks before. Nicotine significantly increases the risk of a staple line leak and ulcers.
• Time off: plan 2–3 weeks away from work, and 6 weeks away from heavy lifting and strenuous exercise.
• Your GP: tell them before you go, and arrange follow-up blood tests for 3, 6 and 12 months.
• Packing list: loose clothing with no waistband pressure, slip-on shoes, compression stockings, a refillable water bottle, and your medication in its original packaging.

A realistic picture: someone starting at 130 kg with an ideal weight around 70 kg has 60 kg of excess weight, and would typically expect to lose 36–42 kg. Most of that happens in the first six to nine months. A small regain of 5–10% between years two and five is common and is not a failure — it is the normal shape of the curve.

The patients who keep the weight off are, without exception, the ones who kept going to follow-up. Protein at every meal, separating drinking from eating, lifelong supplements and regular blood tests are what hold the result. Valentmedica includes twelve months of structured dietitian support for exactly this reason, and loose skin — the most common complaint after large weight loss — is addressed in our before and after gallery, where patients show their results at 12 and 24 months.