What can you expect?

After your procedure

Once the anesthesia has worn off, you may feel some pain. This can usually be relieved with ordinary painkillers. The hospital staff will help you get out of bed and move around as soon as possible. This helps prevent blood clots, respiratory problems and bedsores.

Laparoscopic gastric banding patients typically spend less than 24 hours in the hospital. Typical stay for laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery is one to three days.

Many patients return to pre-surgery levels of activity within six weeks of their surgery. It may take only a few weeks for those who have had a minimally invasive laparoscopic procedure. In the case of open surgery or if there are complications, recovery may take longer.

When you’re released from the hospital, you may be able to take care of your personal needs, but still will need help with shopping, lifting and driving. For your own safety, you’ll be advised not to drive until you have stopped taking medications associated with the surgery and can move quickly and alertly. This usually takes seven to 14 days after surgery.

While your long-term goal is to lose weight, the first priority in the weeks immediately after surgery will be to give your body the rest and nutrition it needs to heal. Patients begin drinking small quantities of water shortly after surgery, then follow a liquid diet for about a week. Your surgeon and nutritionists will guide you as you incorporate soft foods and eventually solid foods into your meals.

You will not be able to eat the quantities of food you could eat before because it may cause the small stomach pouch to stretch or the band to slip. You will need to chew food thoroughly to avoid blockage of the stoma or feelings of nausea. More details about your eating plan during the first two months after surgery may be found on the Post-Surgery Care page of this Web site. More details about dietary guidelines to lose and maintain weight after recovery are in the Nutrition category of our blog.

As you recover and phase in solid foods, the LCWLS’s Total Lifestyle Care™ program will help you make the transitions and learn how to obtain the optimum results from your surgery. Many weight-loss surgery patients find that surgery does not immediately resolve some of the personal and emotional issues resulting from morbid obesity. The Total Lifestyle Care program offers supports groups, which give patients opportunities to discuss personal and professional issues in a confidential setting. Many patients report that participation in support groups helps them achieve long-term success.

The short-term effects of weight-loss surgery are well understood, but there are still unanswered questions about the long-term effects on nutrition. You will need periodic checks for anemia (low red blood cell count) and Vitamin B12, folate and iron levels.

Most patients report that during the first 12 to 18 months following surgery, they feel energized. This is a time of many lifestyle changes. It’s truly a new beginning and cause for celebration.

 

Before your procedure