Size of stomach after the sleeve

Hi, I had my pre-op appt with my surgeon this past Thursday.  He told me that my stomach after the sleeve surgery is going to be about 100cc or ml in size.  He also told me that he believes my stomach is currently 2000cc.  I came home and did the math, that is taking 95% of my stomach...not the 80-85% of my stomach, which I thought they would be removing.  I am a little bit upset because if I have medical issues with the stomach after surgery, there will be very little to work with.  My medical history and the medications that I take can possibly cause ulcers.  I would hate the idea, of not having a stomach to fall back on.  Am I just stressing over nothing?  What size stomach do you have after surgery?  100cc sounds tinee-tiny.  Just wondering.  Feedback would be great.  Guess I'm just nervous and over-thinking  things.  Thanks.

hello--not sure this is much help--but I was told I got the 32french? I think they said its the smallest? I have no clue about the CC's.

Check out Carmelita's page or search through here for the bougie size, I believe there is some great size explanations.

What kind of medical issues are you thinking about?

I was a big anxiety ball post op, freaked myself out over stuff I couldn't control.  Its totally normally to be nervous!  

I have asthma which every blue moon or so require me to take prednisone, with the arthritis and  fibromyalgia, I have to take NSAID's, so I can even move, HTN, glucoma, venous, stenosis, sleep apnea etc.  I am hoping and expecting with weight loss that certain medical conditions will improve, or possibly will be eliminated...YAY.  I know certain medication can cause ulcers or bleeding.  Was just concerned about the smaller area that will be recieving the same dosage that my oversized stomach has been doing over the years.   With a little bit of luck...maybe the medications can get eliminated one by one along with the conitions.

 I would recommend following up with the surgeon- you have a really great quesstion there.  Perhaps it is 85% of a normal sized stomach, not our stretched out from crazy overeating sized stomach?  Maybe google what size a normal size stomach is... perhaps it is smaller than your 2000?

Edit: just found on a website a typical stomach is 1000 cc's, so the 100 makes sense in that context.  No idea if the website i saw this on is reliable though.

The size of your current stomach is quite variable, as much of it is stretchy (to accommodate those Thanksgiving dinners!) so putting a number on that is difficult - how full is it at the moment, and how much as an individual stretched out their stomach? A more typical quoted capacity is around 1000cc, but due to its stretchiness, 2000cc or more can be accommodated if stuffed. When empty, its' capacity can easily be down in the neighborhood of our sleeved stomachs, but the VSG take away most of that stretchy tissue.

There are also some variables involved in determining what your final capacity will be. Many use this bougie that you hear about as a guide, the smaller the number the smaller the stomach - sorta. That depends on how tightly the surgeon forms the sleeve around the bougie, and how long your stomach is (some people's stomach will wind up being longer or shorter, though the diameter of the sleeve is the same as others'.) Many docs will measure the capacity during surgery as part of an initial leak test while they're in there.

A 100cc stomach sounds to be on the large side to me for a stand alone VSG; my sleeve was about 2.5 oz at surgery (call it 70cc) while my doc usually does larger sleeves of around 4 oz (113cc) for his DS patients. These measurements may not be directly comparable, as docs can measure things differently, so take that comparison with a grain of salt.

Short answer here is that we can hear all kinds of numbers, and many of them won't be directly comparable with other numbers that we hear, so direct comparisons are difficult. The most important thing is what the final outcome of the surgery is once everything is healed up, which is that most of us can be comfortably satisfied with enough dense protein (meats and such) along with other healthy foods to live healthy satisfying lives, though there is a learning curve involved and caution still needs to be used to avoid drinking excess calories and limiting junk which tends to be less restricted.

 Ok so how my surgeon and nurses all explained it to me was they put a tube down your throat into your stomach and they use their cutting instrament to cut the new size stomach with that tube as their guide. For your surgeon using a CC system to tell you about the size of your stomach is stupid to begin with. My surgeon explained to me that my stomach will be 15% of what it used to be. They will cut out 85%. They said my new stomach is the size of a small banana after the swelling goes down and my new stomach heals. It is a life changing experience and its not easy let me tell you. I am only 4 days out. Not to much pain just drinking every 15 mins gets old quickly. 

I can honestly say this is the best place to get advise and information with others who have had the same procedures done. The people who have walked in your shoes. I was nervous for a while to but when it came to surgery on Thurs June 28th I was exceptionally calm about the whole process. This is the tool that I needed to move forward with my weight loss. Maybe you should talk to another surgeon. I was so comfortable with mine. She took about 30 mins and explained everything to me to make sure this is something I really wanted to do. The one thing that sucks for me(ever surgeon is different) but I am on full liquids for 3 weeks, week 4 I start my pureed foods, week 5 I start my soft solids. Lets just say head hunger is a b****. I have a cold so that is helping with the smells of food for now which I think is a blessing in disguise. I can do this. I have come this far and I am not giving up.. Its not optional so find a surgeon you are comforable with. Do online research of bariatric surgeons in your area. Good luck and please let me know if you need anything else. 

 i was told i would have a 2-4 oz stomach and could be upto 4-6oz  in the end, im 4 months out and i can eat no more than 3.5 oz  more dinse foods 3oz

 To piggyback off of cyn...

I have a larger stomach (bougie size).  I could eat 4 ounces of dense protein when i was first allowed to, but usually kept it to 3 ounces.  Now at a little over 6 months out I could do 6 ounes dense protein with a little bit of fruit or veggies or something on the side.  Capacity definitely increases as you move along.  Still, even with the large sized stomach it is comfortable keeping calories between 1000-1200 so long as you make quality food choices.

You need to talk with your doctor, both your surgeon and your primary care physician re: the medication issue.  I was told no NSAIDS ever again!  Tylenol only and that in moderation.  Also, no time release pills of any kind ever again as they do not stay in the stomach long enough to work properly.  Yes, the surgery will eventually "cure" several of your medical issues but some it may not.  I had high blood pressure (was on two meds to control it) and high cholesterol, both are gone.  Also had pain in my joints from the excess weight and was taking glucosamine/chondroitin - no problems now, no medications needed!  I did not have sleep apnea but it is one I know that goes away post-surgery (eventually).  But some of the other issues you mentioned may not be directly related to your weight and weight loss may not fix them.

Get all the information you can prior to going ahead with the surgery.  Ask lots of questions!!  Remember, the only stupid question is the one you don't ask!!!

Good luck!

~Sandi