A Life-Changing Procedure: Jenny’s Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy

Images Courtesy of Manatee Weight Loss Center / Manatee Physician Alliance
Jenny before and after her weight loss surgery.

When she moved from Puerto Rico to Florida 17 years ago, Jenny Rodriguez didn’t speak a word of English. Now, she speaks the language so well that she’s part of a team that helps non-English speakers learn it and adjust to life in the states. “I work for the School District of Manatee County; I’m a secretary for the director of the ESOL program,” Jenny explains. “ESOL stands for English for Speakers of Other Languages. We help students and people from other countries succeed.” Jenny, 41, began her journey to success 14 years ago, while pregnant with the second of three children. She was also carrying dozens of unwanted pounds, a burden that grew as years passed. “I’ve struggled with my weight most of my life, but the last 14 years were the worst,” Jenny confides. “I eventually became so overweight that a couple of years ago I started to have trouble walking because the weight caused so much foot pain. But that wasn’t my only problem. I had other serious health problems, like sleep apnea, prediabetes and high blood pressure. It was awful. I wasn’t even 40 years old, and I felt like I was dying. “And it wasn’t just physical pain. There was emotional pain, too. There were days when I would go shopping for clothes and sit in the fitting room and cry because nothing looked good on me. I didn’t feel pretty or confident. I just felt awful.” Jenny insists she tried everything she could think of to lose weight. “If someone suggested a diet to me, I was like, Yeah, I know that diet. I tried it. It didn’t work. Nothing worked for me,” Jenny says. “That’s why I finally went to see Dr. Rekkas.” Bariatric surgeon Stelios Rekkas, MD, FACS, FASMBS, of Manatee Weight Loss Center/Manatee Physician Alliance, is the medical director of the bariatric program at Manatee Memorial Hospital. All facilities are part of the Manatee Healthcare System. Jenny learned of Dr. Rekkas through a friend who had undergone a vertical sleeve gastrectomy at Manatee Memorial Hospital, where Dr. Rekkas performs the surgery using a sophisticated tool called the da Vinci® Robotic Surgical System.

da Vinci system

“An Incredible System”

This system allows surgeons to complete a variety of minimally invasive procedures while sitting at a remote console, where they view a magnified 3D image of the work area and control the da Vinci system’s robotic arms with toggle sticks. “It’s an incredible system,” Dr. Rekkas states. “And I can assure you that the robot does not make any decisions, nor does it do any cutting. What it does is assist and augment what the surgeon does. But everything the surgeon does is done remotely.” The surgeon works in the same room as the patient. Instead of standing over the patient, the surgeon sits comfortably at a table and controls the camera and robotic arms, which perform the surgical motions normally done by the doctor. That work is performed through three 8 mm-long incisions, not a long, deep opening. This results in better outcomes and shorter recovery periods. In many cases, surgeries that traditionally required weeklong postop hospital stays require one or two days. Dr. Rekkas performs these surgeries at Manatee Memorial Hospital, which he lauds for its investment in robotic platforms. The hospital has done a great job of providing us with the tools we need to do our best work,” he states. “It has taken the initiative to be an advanced minimally invasive surgical center, and it provides excellent nursing care.” Surgeons must be trained specifically in the use of the system to operate it. Dr. Rekkas, for example, is certified as a Surgeon of Excellence in Robotics by Surgical Review Corp., a nonprofit patient safety organization. “There are a lot of applications that this system can be used for,” says Stacey South, MD, chief of staff at Manatee Memorial Hospital, where she has completed more than 1,500 surgeries using the da Vinci system. “It can be used to remove endometrial cancers, pelvic masses, abnormal bleeding as well as many other surgeries. We can even use it with some ovarian cancers. It’s something that is becoming more and more common in hospitals these days.”

Courtesy Photo
Jenny Rodriguez

Down More Than 120 Pounds

In treating Jenny, Dr. Rekkas used the da Vinci system to accomplish two surgeries. In addition to the vertical sleeve gastrectomy, in which 60 to 80 percent of the patient’s stomach is removed, he also performed a hernia repair. “Once those incisions are made, a camera goes inside one of them that allows me to see everything inside clearly and in a three-dimensional environment,” Dr. Rekkas explains. “Next, a retractor elevates the liver, which allows me to go in and free up the stomach. “Then a special robotic stapler actually clamps the stomach, seals it and cuts it. Finally, the part of the stomach that has to be taken out gets removed from the body through another small incision in the abdomen.” For years, the vertical sleeve gastrectomy was done through an incision about a foot long, and the surgeon had to stand over the patient and manipulate his instruments. When she first met Dr. Rekkas, Jenny weighed 260 pounds. Since the surgery in December 2019, Jenny has lost more than 120 pounds and regained the confidence, energy and self-esteem she lost through her weight gain. “I can do a lot of things that I wasn’t able to do before, like hiking, which I love,” Jenny enthuses. “It’s something I was never able to do before or really had any interest in doing. But now, I’m doing a lot of things I never used to do.” Jenny isn’t done with her self-improvement. She still wants to tone her body. “I’m not going to say, Well, I had the surgery, and everything is good,” she explains. “If you want to look good after the surgery, you have to work at it, and I’m working at it.” Jenny calls the procedure “a breeze” and notes that the recovery was “much easier” than she thought it would be. “I was thinking I’d be down for a couple of weeks because I had two surgeries, the vertical sleeve gastrectomy and hernia repair, but I was out of bed and walking again after three days,” she recollects. “Dr. Rekkas is a great doctor and I urge anyone who has a weight-loss problem like me to see him. The surgery he did for me at Manatee Memorial Hospital has been absolutely life-changing.”