Has anyone had this operation/getting this operation?

I saw the surgeon about a month ago. I went in for a lapband, but I had googled him beforehand, and read a bit about the gastric sleeve. Apparently these days, 10 sleeves are done per 1 band, as they're thought to be a more viable option for the long term.

Gastric sleeve is pretty much cutting your stomach in half. It's done laparascopically, two lines of staples are made at roughly the middle of the stomach, and everything after the staples is removed. Definitely more involved than a lap band, but not as involved as a gastric bypass.

It's preferred as the food choices afterwards are not as limiting. With a band, its recommended never to eat steak or bread again, among other things. With the sleeve, you can eat anything you want, but you have a severely reduced capacity. The past of the stomach that is removed is also responsible for the production of 'hungry hormones', so your appetite is automatically supressed.

After the surgery, you have to be in hospital for at least 4 days, so they can monitor the staple line and ensure there is no leakage of stomach acid. All going well you're out in 4 days, on liquids for another 2 weeks or so, and then back to normal.

Weight loss is more than the band, with an average 75-80% loss in the first 12 months.

I need to wait for my hospital cover to come through, so my op won't be for another year. Anyone else looking at it?