The surgical procedure Risks of procedure After
surgery
After Roux-en-Y
Gastric Bypass Surgery
 After
bariatric surgery, you will spend three to four days at Memorial
Health University Medical Center. You will begin doing simple
exercises from your bed just four hours after surgery. You will have
some discomfort after surgery and we will provide pain relief as
needed.
To help prevent blood clots,
anti-embolism stockings and sequential compression boots will be
placed on your legs. You will also receive small doses of a blood
thinning agent to prevent clot formation. We will encourage you to
get out of bed and walk around several times a day.
Initially, you will
only be allowed to consume liquids. In the weeks following surgery, you will begin to eat small portions of solid food again. For approximately six months, you will be on a strict low-carb, protein diet.
Follow-Up
You will
return to Memorial Health Bariatrics after two weeks, one month, three months, six
months, one year, and then annually for the rest of your life. At
each of these visits, we will check your weight, measure certain
parts of your body, check your strength, and perform other tests as
needed. These check-ups are necessary to help us ensure that you are
healthy and are following your diet and exercise guidelines. Taking
special vitamins is a critical part of your postoperative
care.
Support
You will
be asked to attend a support group regularly. Research has shown that adequate
support is a vital part of weight loss success. We offer meetings at least twice a month here in Savannah in the Mercer Auditorium located in the Hoskins Center on the Memorial Health campus. We also hold a monthly meeting in Vidalia, Georgia, at the Wellness Center near Meadows Regional Medical Center.
You will also meet
with an exercise physiologist and dietitian. You will be given
telephone access to a nurse 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Additional counseling will be available if necessary. As our program
develops, we will offer our patients an increasing range of
workshops and seminars to help you make the life adjustments needed
to maintain your weight loss.
Changing the Way You Eat
The modifications made to your gastrointestinal
tract will require permanent changes in your eating habits. Some of
the changes you will be required to make include:
• When you start eating solid food it is
essential that you chew thoroughly. You will not be able to
eat steaks or other chunks of meat if they are not ground or
chewed thoroughly.
• You are not to drink fluids while eating. You need to wait 90
minutes after eating before drinking any fluid.
• Omit desserts and other items with sugar listed as one of
the first three ingredients.
• Omit carbonated drinks, high-calorie nutritional supplements,
milk shakes, high-fat foods, and foods with high-fiber content.
• Avoid alcohol.
• Limit snacking between meals.
• Take vitamin supplements as directed by your doctor. |
Returning to Work
Your ability to resume pre-surgery levels of
activity will vary based on your physical condition and the nature
of the activity. Many patients return to full pre-surgery levels of
activity within six weeks of their procedure. Patients who have had
a minimally invasive laparoscopic procedure may be able to return to
these activities within a few weeks.
Birth Control and Pregnancy
It is strongly advised that women of childbearing
age use at least two effective forms of birth control during
the first 16
to 24 months after weight loss surgery. A woman's ability
to become pregnant returns within a week or two after you start
to lose any weight. The added demands pregnancy places on your
body and the potential for fetal damage make this requirement
very important.
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