Gastrectomy

Gastrectomy Surgery Upper GI Surgery Brisbane

What is a gastrectomy?

A gastrectomy is a partial or full surgical removal of the stomach. It may be performed as an open or laparoscopic procedure depending on the reason for and type of gastrectomy. A gastrectomy procedure is used to treat stomach problems including:

  • Noncancerous (benign) tumours or polyps inside your stomach

  • Stomach cancer

  • Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) 

  • Inflammation or bleeding inside the stomach

  • Perforations in the stomach wall

  • Severe peptic or duodenal ulcers

  • Obesity

Removing all or part of your stomach does not take away your ability to eat and digest liquids and foods. However, you may need to make several lifestyle and eating habit changes after the procedure.

There are three main types of gastrectomy:

  • A partial gastrectomy removes the lower part of the stomach.

  • A total gastrectomy removes the entire stomach and attaches the oesophagus to the small intestines.

  • A sleeve gastrectomy trims the left side of the stomach to form a ‘sleeve’ of stomach area usually for the purposes of weight loss

What is involved in the gastrectomy surgery?

The type of gastrectomy you need will depend on the reason for your surgery. This will also determine whether your surgery is performed as open surgery (a single, large incision) or laparoscopic surgery (using several small incisions and specialised tools including a thin tube with a camera known as a laparoscope).

Dr Ghadiri may recommend open surgery over laparoscopic surgery to treat certain conditions such as stomach cancer. While a sleeve gastrectomy is usually performed laparoscopically as part of a surgery for weight loss.

Where will my gastrectomy surgery be performed?

Dr Ghadiri performs gastrectomy surgery in Brisbane at Brisbane Private Hospital (Wickham Tce) and the Wesley Hospital. She also performs surgery in Ipswich at St Andrew’s Private Hospital.