Bariatric Surgery: Your Surgical Experience
You and your surgeon will work together to prepare you for surgery. In the months before your surgery date, tests will be done to check your health. When it is time for surgery, you will be monitored and kept as comfortable as possible throughout surgery and recovery periods. After surgery, you may stay in the hospital for one or several days.
Your pre-op exam and tests
Your healthcare provider will see you months before surgery and will request blood tests and other studies. You may also be referred to a cardiologist or a pulmonary specialist. Chest X-rays may be ordered to check your lungs and an electrocardiogram (ECG) may be done to check your heart rhythm. These tests help to prepare you for surgery. Your surgeon and dietitian may also ask you to lose some weight before surgery in order to make the surgery safer. You may also meet with a mental health counselor to help cope with the stresses before and after surgery.
Before surgery
To prepare for surgery, you may be asked to:
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Stop smoking.
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Lose weight by following a special diet.
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Stop taking certain medicines, including aspirin and anti-inflammatories for about a week before surgery. Ask your surgeon what medicines to continue taking. Be sure to mention any over-the-counter medicines, herbs, or supplements you take.
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Not binge on food before surgery.
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Stop eating and drinking after midnight on the night before surgery, or as instructed.
Just before or on the day of surgery
On or before the day of surgery, you will need to sign any consent forms both for the actual surgery and the anesthesia you will be given. An anesthesiologist will meet with you and tell you about medicines to block pain (anesthetics). These will keep you asleep throughout the surgery. The anesthesiologist will also talk to you about your medical history and about your current medicines. He or she will tell you which ones to take on the day of surgery. If you use a CPAP or BiPAP machine for sleep apnea, the hospital will supply one for you to use while you are in the hospital.
Reaching the organs
Before surgery, your healthcare provider will explain what type of procedure will be performed. The surgery begins with the surgeon making one or more incisions in your stomach. For a laparoscopic procedure, several small incisions (port sites) are made. For open surgery (laparotomy), the surgeon makes one large incision. During the procedure, surgical instruments and a tiny camera are put through small tubes placed in these small incisions. The surgeon operates by looking at the organs on a video monitor.
Just after surgery
You may wake up in a recovery room or you may be in an ICU (intensive care unit). One or more IV (intravenous) lines may be in place to deliver fluids and medicines. One IV line may be attached to a PCA (patient-controlled analgesia) pump. You can use this pump to give yourself pain medicine. Tubes may also be in place to drain or suction body fluids. In some cases, a tube may be in your throat to help you breathe. You may also have special leg stockings to help improve blood flow. You may also have a urinary catheter to empty your bladder while you are recovering in bed.
At the hospital
As you recover from surgery, you will be moved to a hospital room. You will be asked to be active as soon as you can and the nurses will help you get out of bed to move around. This helps speed your recovery and helps to prevent complications like blood clots in your legs. You will start with liquid nutrition as your body recovers from surgery. You will also be asked to do breathing exercises using an incentive spirometer. This helps to prevent pneumonia and keep your lungs healthy. X-ray tests may be done to check your progress. Your team will tell you when you are ready to go home.
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