A Canadian woman named Selena grew desperate to lose weight, after trying just about everything, without the success she was looking for. She’d looked around and decided that Mexico was her best chance of finding the weight loss surgery she needed, at prices she could afford.

She decided on Mexico – Mexicali in partciular – to have her gastric sleeve weight-loss surgical procedure. The procedure is also known as sleeve gastrectomy. While Salina wasn’t concerned about going to Mexico for her surgery, she was concerned about her ability to keep the weight off long-term after the procedure.

The gastric sleeve procedure is a type of bariatric surgery that reduces the size of the stomach to create more of a “sleeve” rather than the pouch shape that the stomach has. It’s often offered as an alternative to more invasive, drastic gastric bypass surgeries. Gastric sleeve procedures remove roughly 85% of the stomach to help reduce food consumption.

Here is a sample of the criteria that may determine whether gastric sleeve surgery is right for you:

• You must try for at least 6 months to lose weight on your own under the advice of your pediatrician or family doctor.
• You may have a body mass index of over 40, with a serious weight-related issue
• You may have a BMI of over 50 with mild obesity-related issues

After two years, you may expect to lose between 30 and 35% of your initial body weight, or roughly 40 pounds. Salina has lost more than that, and three years after her procedure, is still losing.