Dr. Mario Almanza: A Brief History of Gastric Sleeve Surgery

1. Dr. Mario Almanza: A Brief History of Gastric Sleeve Surgery Dr. Mario Almanza has provided patients the benefits of bariatric surgery for more than ten years—and has, to date, successfully performed more than 10,000 weight loss procedures. One procedure Dr. Mario Almanza offers is that of gastric sleeve surgery—a technique first introduced in 1988 as a more restrictive aspect of bariatric surgery for treating patients struggling with morbid obesity. The sleeve gastrectomy, as it’s commonly known throughout the medical community, showed significant promise as a catalyst for substantial weight loss. As a result, the procedure began to be offered as a stand-alone weight loss surgery in 2003. It wasn’t until 2012, however, that the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery updated its official position on gastric sleeve as a bariatric technique, and recognized it as both a stand-alone surgery and as the first stage in a two-step procedure.