Gastric Plication Surgery (GPS) is an alternative to traditional lap band surgery and results in loss of 30% - 70% of excess weight within the first year. Other names for this surgery include Gastric Imbrication, Gastric Sleeve Plication, Vertical Gastric Plication, Laparoscopic Gastric Plication (LGP) and Laparoscopic Greater Curvature Plication (LGCP).
This procedure is the simplest of the weight loss surgeries and is generally an outpatient procedure. There is no cutting of the stomach, stapling or removing stomach tissue. The surgery is performed laparoscopically with only five or six small incisions in the abdomen, and patients usually return to normal activities within five days. After two weeks on a liquid diet, patients begin to add solid foods to the diet.
The technique is to fold the outer wall of the stomach on itself (imbrication), then hold it together with sutures (plication), creating a long, narrow tube-shaped stomach with approximately 70% less volume. Patients feel full after eating a small amount of food, and may also experience a decrease in appetite. Unlike the bypass procedures, this procedure does not cause decreased absorption and because the stomach is not cut and kept intact, gastric plication is reversible if necessary.
Like any laparoscopic surgery, there are risks, such as bleeding, infection, injury to other organs or the need to convert to an "open" procedure. There is also a small risk of a leak from the suture line used to fold the stomach. However, the complication rate is less than 1%. Gastric Plication requires a one-week stay in Costa Rica for pre-op testing, surgery and recovery. Package prices for the procedure and the recovery center accommodations are available.