A safe sleeve gastrectomy reduces gastric volume of a patient's stomach as a weight loss treatment. The safe sleeve gastrectomy utilizes a safety pocket created by a surgeon to increase safety and guide division of the stomach. An instrument tunnel is created to facilitate division of the stomach into a pouch and a sectioned portion. In this manner, over or complete mobilization of the stomach is avoided. The sectioned portion may be lifted for increased visibility to facilitate its mobilization and removal from the patient.
