Gastric sleeve patients often wonder if they can stretch out their sleeve if they eat too much, and if so, is there a way to “re-sleeve” the stomach?

Stretching out your Sleeve   
Before answering the first question – can you stretch out your sleeve – let’s discuss the stomach and its function.  The stomach is a thin-walled muscle that expands when you eat and decompresses when it’s empty. It stretches to hold food and its main function is to ‘grind’ food into smaller pieces. 

The gastric sleeve procedure removes more than 80% of the stomach, therefore you can never stretch your stomach back to its original size. However, your post-gastric sleeve stomach will stretch and reduce in size when you eat, as before, just not to the same level and size. We find most weight gain after a sleeve procedure occurs due to an increased calorie intake from snacking and liquid calories.

Re-Sleeving the Stomach
Now the second question, can you re-sleeve your sleeve? Unfortunately no, re-sleeving is not an option. Re-sleeving is not an FDA approved procedure and it does not significantly decrease the size of the stomach. Further, it has not shown to demonstrate long-term weight loss results.

Options for a Second Chance 
We know weight loss is hard work, even with a tool like the gastric sleeve. It’s a journey, not a sprint. If you’re struggling or concerned with weight gain after surgery, schedule a visit with us to review your options from nutritional support to a medical weight loss and revision surgery that allows you a second chance at success.  And check out our “Fall Back into Good Habits” blog post for some quick tips to get back on track.